Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Sequel : Inertia
by Blue-eyed Rancor
Summary: As team 5D's reunion draw close an incident at Yusei's place of work puts him on edge and his paranoia ends up interfering with his life. And though things seem normal enough they take an unexpected turn when the former signers face a threat unlike any they've ever faced and each member of the team come to grips with a reality where their past heroism doesn't matter much. [REVISED]
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

PART 1 - Perpetual Motion

The Paranoia

Yusei woke up to a start, lifting his head from the table he had fallen asleep on. He grunted in irritation as he wiped the sweat off his forehead, his papers had already been drenched in his perspiration.

He got up, shuffling around the room for a while before finding the light switch and flipping it, brightening the dark room. The place was predictably messy, littered with a number of papers and files, one had to wonder how the scientist ever found anything there.

The room had a sole window located on the left wall from the door. Next to a window was a work desk, upon which a lamp stood, along with a couple of now damp papers. Yusei fell onto the sofa placed in the middle of the room, clearly fatigued.

He had gotten used to the stress his work caused, so normally a short nap was all that he needed to get his strength back. Things hadn't been normal in recent days though.

Jack, Crow, Rua, and possibly Ruka would be coming to Neo Domino for a Duel tournament, and Yusei couldn't get over the unsettling feeling he had. Anxiety had become common for him during events like this, but the Dr. Armin fiasco had made him paranoid. Ushio might have believed it to be the desperate ramblings of a deranged man, but the words he had spoken to Yusei still echoed in his mind.

'We are not alone here, and there's a way to get there...'

It was a highly publicized incident, what else would catch the media's attention than a brilliant scientist's sudden descent into madness? Dr. Armin, the man in question, was now in a mental hospital in Neo Domino's neighbouring city: Amber valley.

Being known for his eccentricity, nobody worried much when Armin began talking to himself, but people began to do more than raise eyebrows when he started writing on the walls and furniture. Contrary to their assumptions, it wasn't equations or theses being written, rather they seemed to be nothing more than a collection of random letters.

The institution had ordered him to take a leave but he refused, insisting he was 'getting closer to the answer'. After about a week filled with random scribbling he became violent all of a sudden, thrashing about while attempting to destroy the lab's equipment. Yusei had been part of those who tried to reason with him, but their efforts proved futile, eventually security had to step in and take him away, but not before he stared at Yusei with his cold green eyes and said the only coherent words that Yusei had heard escape his lips since the odd behavior began.

Cryptic and poetic those words were, and Yusei hated it, why did people have to be so vague about things. Mikage and Carly had noticed how shaken up Yusei was, the latter suggested he see a therapist, but being the stubborn person he was, he didn't follow her advice.

Yusei couldn't help but think of his own life after that. Dr. Armin who was just in his early to mid-thirties had been sent to a mental hospital thanks to what was probably unwavering devotion to his research, was that what awaited him too? As far as he knew Armin hadn't been visited since his hospitalization, he had no children, no spouse, not even a relative had so much as called to ask of him.

With team 5D's split up, Yusei felt he was in the same situation. Jack and Crow were big names in the dueling world, Rua was making waves in the youth league, Ruka would soon be attending college and Aki was done with medical school already. But nothing had changed for him, he was still the same old Yusei, living in the same old city, still doing the same thing…

The spiky haired male exhaled sharply, bringing himself to a sitting position. 'I guess that's enough work for today.' He made for the door, making sure to avoid trampling on his work as he walked.

He flipped the switch and the lights went off, dimming the room once again as he shut the door.

* * *

It was a refreshing feeling, having the wind hit his face while speeding, going fast did make him feel alive. Yusei couldn't help but crack a smile, it had been a while since he rode his D-Wheel, he actually didn't expected it to start, but it did, surprisingly.

He drove through the streets of Neo Domino city, moving like a crimson blur smoothly skidding across ice.

He found his way to the edge of the city, stopping just before the Daedalus bridge. After unmounting his D-Wheel, he made his way to the very edge of the city, a not-so-high railing being the only obstruction between him and the large water body below.

His blue eyes stared into the water below, too far to see his own reflection so he settled for that of the cresent moon.

He found himself drifting back to the thoughts before. Each time he tried to tell himself that Armin's words meant nothing, his mind kept reminding him how all his worries had always been proven right. He sighed deeply, groaning in frustration and brushing his hands through his head.

Yusei took a look at the Daedalus bridge, there it was, the symbol of Team 5D's acheivements, a constant reminder of what had been, maybe what could've been...

The black haired man noticed that someone else had joined him. The person sat atop the railing rather carelessly.

"Are you sure you should be sitting there?" Yusei asked, concerned for the person's safety. Not receiving a response, Yusei shrugged, resuming his staring.

"Sorry, did you say something?" The person looked back, removing his earpiece.

"Just making sure you don't fall off." Yusei responded.

"Don't worry, I'm… okay."

Yusei recognized the look on the boy's face, he had seen the same fanboy-ish stare before.

"Shit- sorry!" The boy said. "You're really Yusei Fudo, right?"

"Yes I am." Yusei couldn't help but be amused by the boy's behavior.

"Wow." He continued. "I didn't think I'd ever meet you in person!" He climbed down from the railing. "I'm a really big fan."

Yusei smiled, offering a hand. "Well, since you know my name, I'd like to know yours."

"It's Yasushi." The boy replied.

"Nice to meet you." Yusei said. As far as he could tell, Yasushi was around Rua and Ruka's age, he had short black hair that was either uncombed or stylized into some form of dreads. "Any reason you're here?"

"Not really." The boy replied. "Somehow, being here helps me forget everything for a while."

"Same here." Yusei said.

"Is it because of the Dr. Armin incident?"

Yusei nodded, sighing again, it had only been a week since he was put in the hospital.

"It's a pity, what happened to him." Yasushi said. "Done in by his own work. If I was one of the people working with him I would certainly be scared."

'Yeah, madness isn't something that spontaneously happens.' Yusei thought, agreeing with the teen but saying nothing.

"I've wanted to find out how it happened, since I'm actually talking to you, would it be too much to ask?"

Yusei scrutinized the boy now, he could be just another reporter now that he thought about it. They had been rather persistent about getting answers from him…

"If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay." Yasushi said. "I imagine it would be uncomfortable to speak about it, he was a close colleague after all."

Yasushi's words made Yusei feel uncomfortable, Armin and Yusei hadn't been so close, but it had to count for something that the man had basically left his country for Neo Domino to work with Yusei. He hadn't known much about momentum, but his passion for it had intrigued Yusei. They had spent a considerable amount of time working together, but just like the very relatives Yusei wondered about he hadn't visited either.

"Thank you for talking to me." Yasushi said, beaming. "Seriously, I never thought I'd actually get to meet you in person."

"The pleasure's mine." Yusei said.

"Thanks again." Yasushi said, replacing his earpiece, pulling up his hood and walking away.

Something struck Yusei as odd about the retreating boy, unlike other typical fans, he didn't ask for an authograph or a picture. This was probably for the best anyway, he didn't feel like doing any of those at the moment.

This short trip was a disaster, he had to admit. It had only succeeded in making him more anxious, but at least he now knew what he had to do.

* * *

Author's Notes

Now you're probably wondering what's the difference is between this one and the former version, well, for one, Armin's words changed, it might be important, it might not be, its not for me to say.

The chapters might seem the same at first, but be patient, where I'm from, as a child it was pretty common to hear an elderly one say 'the patient dog gets the fattest bone' -I've come to believe that's pretty bad advice in the real world, but it probably will pay off here, so just read on.

I hope this story will be worth the time taken to read it, if it is or isn't I'd like to hear why, feedback is welcome, so enjoy.


	2. Chapter 2

Anselm

"A nephew of his. Came here yesterday, spent quite a while with him for some reason."

Yusei raised an eyebrow at that last part. He had asked the woman at the counter if Armin had gotten any visitors, and that was her response.

"Oh don't judge me, you'll understand what I mean when you see the state he's in."

For reasons Yusei wasn't exactly sure of, he had travelled all the way to Amber Valley to see his former colleague. He had come to the conclusion that he wouldn't be at peace with himself until he did, he either had to confirm his worries or quell them.

The nurse directed him to Armin's room, "Just knock on the door when you're ready to leave. Shout if anything odd happens." She said.

After nodding in acknowledgement, Yusei entered the room, hearing the door locked behind him.

For the first time since the incident, Yusei found himself face to face with Dr. Armin. The man's blond hair was still as wild as ever, but instead of the smile the man was known for, a completely blank expression lay on his face.

The room was as plain as could be, a single window was present on the wall opposite the door and a table and chair were on the right side of the room from the door. A bed lay on the left side of the room, and Armin was currently seated crosslegged on it.

Yusei turned the chair around to face Armin before sitting. "So… how've you been?" He started uncomfortably.

Armin didn't respond, he didn't even show any sign of hearing Yusei. He just stared in Yusei's direction, his cold green eyes showing no emotion.

"It's good to see you're still okay." Yusei continued.

Still no response from the doctor.

"Do you remember the last words you spoke to me?" Yusei asked. "About … not being alone … and how to get there?"

After minutes of waiting, Yusei, fed up and frustrated, decided to leave. "What did this to you?" He asked before standing and keeping the chair in its original position.

"What?!" Yusei stopped just before his knuckles hit the door. "What was that?" He could have sworn he heard the man speak.

Yusei whipped around, staring at Armin. For a brief moment he thought he saw something resembling human emotion behind the silver rimmed glasses the man wore, but when further probing proved futile, Yusei finally left.

While in the cab, as he returned back to Neo Domino City, Yusei felt worse than before. He had neither confirmed nor quelled his worries, instead he had become a lot more anxious. 'What did it all mean?' He wondered.

* * *

It was already night when Yusei arrived back home, it was a saturday so he didn't have to worry about missing work. Unlike most people would've, he didn't care that his saturday was spent mostly on the road, he probably would've spent it working anyway.

"Aki!" Yusei blurted as he approached his door. The red head pulled him into a hug as soon as she saw him, the former leader of the signers awkwardly standing as she did. The two pulled apart shortly after with pink tinged cheeks, the red head faking a cough in an attempt to get over the awkwardness.

"So…"

"I thought you couldn't make it." Yusei said, breaking the silence. "When did you get here?"

"This morning." Aki answered. "I thought I'd drop in and see you before everyone else."

Aki was the person Yusei least expected to see. She'd been very busy trying to get her career started, so much that travelling seemed impossible. "I'm sorry for making you wait outside."

"No problem, I haven't been here long." Aki said as Yusei opened the door. "You still ride your D-Wheel I see."

"Yeah, from time to time. It's still in surprisingly good shape despite the lack of maintainance." Yusei replied, holding the door for her.

Aki stepped into the two bed room apartment, looking around the cream coloured walls of the living room. "Nice apartment you have here." She commented.

"Thanks." Yusei replied. After the team split up, he figured he didn't need as much space as Zora's place had, it was only him alone after all. The decision to move was a rather hard one to make, considering how much memories the gang had there, but he guessed he had to move on and get a place of his own.

Aki sat in one of the armchairs, still looking around as Yusei made for the kitchen. She could see some dust on a few of the furniture, an observation she expected to make, she never really saw Yusei as the cleaning type.

Her eyes came to focus on a portrait hung on the wall. Apart from the former signers, Carly, Ushio and Mikage were also there. She smiled as she saw her younger self in her crimson riding suit.

She hadn't dueled in some time. During the first two years of college, whilst rare, she had the time to duel, but recently she didn't even keep up with the game, as far as she knew the in thing right now were Xyz monsters.

Yusei came out of the kitchen, offering Aki a bottle of water. "Sorry." He smiled sheepishly. "I don't have anything else, if I had known you'd be here I would have bought some groceries at least."

"Don't worry, I'm okay." Aki said, accepting the bottle of water. "You can cook now?"

"If Ramen counts, yes. If not, maybe." Yusei said, his reply eliciting a chuckle from the girl across him. "I try different recipes from time to time, so I think I've made decent progress. Speaking about food, if you're hungry there's a place close-by we can go to."

"Sure, let's go." Aki answered after a moment of thought.

"I'll be out in a moment." Yusei said, leaving for his room. Aki assumed it was to remove his coat, she wondered where he needed to wear a coat to.

They soon left the apartment and began walking, trading stories while they did. While Aki talked Yusei noticed that she had picked up an accent, it wasn't very obvious but it was noticeable. He also noticed that seeing her in person she looked different, more beautiful than she looked during their video chats. Unlike him work didn't seem to wear her out, she still looked as vibrant as ever.

"Huh?" Yusei blurted as Aki shook his shoulder.

"You seem distracted."

"Oh, I'm okay." He replied.

"I heard about the incident at your lab." Aki said, looking at him with concern. "I hope you're not blaming yourself for anything." She knew how much Yusei liked to help people, and how he had a tendency to blame himself when something happens, even if he had no power over it.

"I'm okay, don't worry." He reaffirmed, smiling.

"I just want you to know that you can talk to me, if anything's wrong I'm here for you."

"Thank you Aki."

* * *

Aki noticed that Neo Domino hadn't changed as much as she expected. With the fear of momentum going berzerk gone, the bizarre energy source had become more integrated into everyday life, the most significant use was the maglev train system that ran through almost the entire city, entirely powered by momentum, it was quite a spectacle, the red haired woman deciding she had to try it at least once while she was there.

"How did you find the food?" Yusei asked.

Aki smiled. "To be truthful, odd." Yusei laughed as she continued. "I guess it'll take a while for my palate to readjust to traditional Japanese food."

"Well there's plenty of time to do that." Yusei said. "I think. How long are you staying exactly?"

"I'm not sure." Aki replied. "Work is what I'm looking for right now, and there isn't any rush for that, it depends on how things go. I reckon you'd be right about plenty of time though, but if we're going to be adventurous, I'd like it if we steered clear of sushi, and anything along that line."

Yusei was puzzled. "You don't like fish?"

"No, I'm okay with fish," She answered, carefully adding: "not just raw food."

"Wow, you have changed after all." Yusei smiled.

"I'll be quite a bore if I didn't." Aki said. "What about you, Mr. Big Shot Scientist, what have you been up to."

"Nothing much."

"Really, we can both see the trains, nothing you say?"

"I guess at the lab we've all been trying to develop more stuff utilizing momentum instead of fossil fuels, Neo Domino is becoming quite the green city, and the world is gradually taking an interest in us." Yusei said. "Don't be surprised if a decade from now momentum starts becoming common place in the world."

"I'm happy you're making success, Yusei." Aki said. "A few years from now you might not even be in Neo Domino anymore." She noticed an odd look on his face as she said that. "You don't want to leave?" The question had been nagging at her for a while, would Yusei be able to let go of the past? Neo Domino to be exact.

"It's not like that." Yusei answered, a bit of a frown on his face as he spoke uncomfortably. "I just feel obligated to this city I guess, it'll kinda be sad to leave."

'Even for me?' Aki shook her head, she didn't need that now. "I trust if there ever came a time to choose, you'll do the right thing."

Yusei smiled, she still had faith in him, he guessed. "Oh, where are you staying?" They were already nearing his house.

"My parent's." She replied, a sly smirk finding its way to her face. "Could you be trying to get me to spend the night?" Aki shocked even herself by uttering such a suggestive sentence, needless to say, if she was that surprised, Yusei's reaction would be far worse.

"W-What? I-I … W-Why-" he stuttered, looking amusing as he did, Aki's laughter after that didn't help much.

"I'm just teasing Yusei." She laughed. "I have to go now, it's getting quite late."

After a few coughs, Yusei replied. "It is isn't it?"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, I guess."

"See you tomorrow." Yusei echoed. A moment passed, once again awkward as both contemplated what to do, were they supposed to hug, shake hands, leave? Was the other supposed to do so? Yusei acted first, stetching his arms around her and pulling her into an embrace, she returned the gesture and they stood like that for a while.

"See you tomorrow." Yusei said as they broke apart blushing.

"See you tomorrow." Aki said, and they both went their seperate ways.

Yusei exhaled deeply as he arrived at his front door, that had been quite the risk he had taken, imagine of she had rejected the hug, boy that would have been a horrible sight. He put his hand in his pocket, fished for the keys then proceeded to unlock the door. He plopped down on his couch as soon as he got in, after making sure the door was locked. Here he was in his mid twenties, stressing over a hug while some high school students much younger had gone farther than that.

He blamed the bulk of his lack of romanticism on what had gone on in his teenage years, stuck in satellite and plotting a way to get out didn't allow much time to mull over social cues, and while saving the world there was no time to think about getting a girlfriend or anything like that. But that was over, they were past their signer days and life was normal, maybe it was time to chase happiness for himself, after all he had been trying -and succeeding- to preserve others' for a long time, he'd like to think he deserved the chance to get his.


	3. Chapter 3

Six of Five

"Just you wait, I'll beat you in this tournament!" Rua declared, pushing Crow's hand off his head. The ginger haired duelist only laughed in return.

All of team 5D's were gathered at Yusei's house, the backyard to be exact, thanks to Aki's persistence she and Yusei had thrown together what could be termed a small party.

They had been joined by Carly, but also had a surprise guest in Misty who to everyone's surprise turned out to be rather close to Aki. The model was dressed quite simply, opting for a pink long sleeved shirt and jeans that stopped below her knees. She, Carly and Aki sat conversing with one another.

Crow on the other hand poked fun at Rua while Ruka berated him for 'picking' on the green haired teen.

Yusei and Jack were locked in a more serious conversation though.

"He still hangs around?" Yusei asked.

"Yeah, he apparently doesn't know how to take a hint." Jack replied. "Seems to fancy being my 'manager' for some reason."

"I don't know, he doesn't seem that bad, I mean considering all the things he helped you through…"

"That's the point." Jack said, his expression darkening. "I already have the scars to remind me, I don't need his constant bothering…what about you, still scared of going insane?"

Jack might have been joking but Yusei certainly didn't find it funny, and the frown on his face conveyed it.

"Oh, lighten up." Jack said, gulping down the rest of the liquid in his cup.

Yusei watched Jack leave to refill his cup, managing to smile at how happy everyone else was. Everyone had grown since the team split, Rua and Ruka especially, gone were the little kids who spent most of their days indoors, now they were well into their teenage years.

Despite their growth they didn't lose some of their defining qualities, like Rua's energy and Ruka's gentleness, funny how they always seemed to complement each other.

Crow hadn't lost his comedic personality, judging by the way the twins were laughing. Sometimes Yusei envied them, being able to be so outgoing and laugh, instead he always had something to worry about, something to fear…

Noticing Yusei staring into space with that look on his face Jack nudged him, bringing him back to reality. "We've certainly had better days huh…"

Yusei agreed with him though he raised an eyebrow when the king gulped down the entire content of his cup. "Maybe you should take it easy on the… drinks." He wasn't sure what it was Jack was drinking, looking down at his own cup he realized he didn't know what was in it either. 'I should really pay more attention.' He realized.

The two friends stopped their moping and joined up with Crow and the twins.

"I bet you won't see what's in my new deck coming!" Rua declared, ever since the one pro duel he had against Crow he had been determined to defeat the Blackwing duelist.

"I'm pretty sure they'll still be machines." Jack said.

"No, no! They're not machines!" Rua said, trying and failing to prove otherwise. "Pity Yusei and Aki won't be part if the tournament, it would have been nice to duel against them."

"Yeah." Crow agreed.

"It's probably for the best," Jack began. "It'll spare them from being crushed by the king's might."

"Please, if the king isn't careful he might find himself out of a throne." Crow said.

"The king has nothing to fear from the likes of you." Jack boasted.

"Yeah, right." Crow said. "But I do wonder what the king would do if he managed to bump into Hibiki again."

'Hibiki…' Jack thought, a look of irritation crossing his face. 'Ugh, he was the worst.'

Noticing Jack's expression, Crow laughed hysterically, leaving the female twin confused.

"Who's Hibiki?" Ruka asked.

"Just another peasant that fell when he went against the king." Jack replied.

"Right."

"He lost didn't he?" Jack stared at Crow.

"Yeah, eventually." Crow replied still grinning. "But of course it wasn't all rosy. You should have seen Jack during that duel, he looked like he was about to lose it. Dude, are you that scared of losing?"

The twins laughed at Crow's narrative, even the silent Yusei snickered a bit.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand." Jack said, leaving again to refill his cup.

"I know! If I beat this Hibiki you guys will finally acknowledge my skill an-" Rua began speaking but was cut short when his phone began ringing. After seeing the caller ID he hurriedly left to answer the call.

"What's that all about?" Yusei asked.

"It's probably Jessica." Ruka answered after some time.

"Who?" Crow asked.

"Ruka! Can you believe it, Jessica's going to be here for the tournament." Rua said in elation as he walked towards them.

"Right, for the tournament." Ruka teased.

"Yeah, that's what I said."

Yusei smiled, Rua was still as dense as ever.

"So what are you planning on doing now that you're done with school?" Misty asked.

"I'll probably start working, but I'm thinking of taking it easy for the time being." Aki replied.

"You should." Carly added. "I can't imagine why anyone would want to join the work force so quickly."

Aki smiled at that. "How about you? You've been looking rather exhausted these days."

"Just stupid T.V politics." Carly groaned. "Sometimes I miss when I used to run around trying to get the next big scoop. Misty, dont you ever get tired of your job?"

"Not particularly." She shrugged. "I'm already used to it."

"I envy you." Carly pouted.

"Look at you two, talking like the celebrities you are." Aki said.

"I won't go as far as calling myself a celebrity." Carly said, adjusting her peculiar looking glasses.

"Yeah, right." Misty said. "As far as you have the media meddling into your private life you're a celebrity."

"I'd like to think I keep my private life private." Carly replied.

"C'mon, who are you kidding, they even know about Alex." Misty replied.

"Wh- what?! I mean, who?" Carly sputtered, her friends laughing at her reaction. "How?"

"I feel hurt that I, one of your closest friends, was not informed of this Alex." Aki said, feigning anger.

"I would have, if it were of actual importance." Carly replied.

"Who is Alex?" Aki asked Misty.

"A guy that seems to be around Carly a lot these days." Misty answered. "The media seems to think they're in a relationship."

"They aren't?"

"Of course we're not!" Carly retorted a little too loudly, blushing in embarassment as the rest of the gang looked over.

Aki moved closer to Carly. "So tell us about this guy."

After a moment Carly begrudgingly spoke. "Well he's British-"

"Oooh."

"Stop that!" Carly snapped as Misty and Aki began chuckling.

"I guess you can say he's good looking, I met him when I was trying to get my show going." Carly continued. "He helped me sort things out and before I knew it we became friends."

"Aww."

"Stop that!" Carly shouted, again getting the attention of the rest of the gang.

"What's a British guy doing here in japan anyway?" Aki asked.

"He said he was interested in our culture." The show host replied.

"I bet lowkey he's just another anime otaku." Misty joked, gaining laughs from the other two.

"Ruka," Carly said as the teal haired teen walked towards them. "Finally get grossed out by the 'men'?"

She nodded affirmative, taking a seat next to Aki.

"While we're on the topic of romances, Ruka, how about you, anyone we should know about?" Misty said.

"No." Ruka replied with pink tinged cheeks.

"I know, Rua has been chasing them away, hasn't he?" Carly said. "I'm going to have to give him a piece of my mind."

"No, it's okay, really."

"Or maybe there's someone and you're trying to hide it from us?" Misty said.

As Ruka was subjected to the uncomfortable discussion brought up by the model Crow was laughing his head off at the expense of Jack.

"I dare you to say that when we meet in the tournament, I dare you!" Jack said, brandishing a fist.

"Crow maybe you should stop now." Rua said, fearing an annoyed Jack would start a scuffle.

"But you know it's true." Crow said between laughs. "I'm sure even Yusei agrees with me…Yusei?"

The three of them looked at the scientist with concerned gazes. There he was seated some feet away with a cup in hand and staring into space. On approaching him they noticed he wasn't even blinking, he seemed like he was in a sort of trance.

"Yusei… Yusei!" Crow called as he shook his shoulder. When that proved futile, Jack Atlas took it upon himself to try snapping him out of it by delivering light slaps to his cheeks.

That proved futile however, and in annoyance the king delivered a real slap upon the former signer's face. Surprisingly, it worked, as Yusei snapped out of his trance and began coughing furiously.

"Look what you've done Jack." Crow said.

"What? I didn't see you succeed in pulling him back to reality." Jack shot back.

"Wait, Yusei!" Rua called as the scientist left for the house, still coughing.

* * *

Yusei sighed as he stared into the bathroom's mirror, after splashing some water on his face he seemed to be back to normal, more or less.

"Yusei, Yusei are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Almost choked on my drink, that's all." He hated having to lie to Aki when she seemed concerned but what was he supposed to say, that he was hallucinating now, yeah that would end well.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine, don't worry." He replied. 'It's just the stress from work.' He tried convincing himself.

He didn't hear any footsteps so he assumed Aki hadn't left. 'Best not do anything stupid.'

After drying his face he left the bathroom, Aki was still standing outside like he'd assumed. He shifted his gaze as soon as he saw her, eye contact was hard to keep when you're lying to someone.

"We should probably go back now." He said after a while. Aki said nothing but she followed him.

* * *

A purple haired girl strode through the dusty pavement, it was evening already and the sky had that orange hue to it. She wore a slight frown on her face as she passed the roadside shops, opting for a sweater and shorts she seemed to be doing nothing more than leisurely walking.

A myriad of posters littered the pavement, she took a look at them, most were about missing people, she guessed even there crime didn't sleep. If anything, it only served to show the incompetence of those who pledged to protect the city. Amber Valley wasn't popular, the city wasn't exceptional in any aspect neither was it failing. It was an interesting example of how things in the middle tend to fly under the radar.

But Jun liked the place, it seemed peaceful, simple and calm, she missed when life was like that, hanging out with friends and family. Now, things were as far from that as she thought possible, maybe unconsciously she still yearned for simplicity, that would certainly explain why she was presently where she was despite being needed in Neo Domino the next day.

When she would ask herself why she was doing it, she would always arrive at the same answer, backed up by the petty emotion that had been keeping her going for a long time. It was rather stupid, or sad, but whichever way she looked at it she was no different from the rest of them.

In the end everyone's all the same anyway, driven by their beliefs, be it blind or not…

* * *

The young man that had come to be known as simply Dr. Armin's nephew once again made his way out of the man's room in the Asylum.

"This is the third time you've been here, isn't it?" The woman at the reception said as he signed his name.

"Probably." He replied.

She looked down at the book before her, searching for his name. "Anselm." She stated. "Were you two close?"

"Not really." The young man replied, frowning slightly. "The doctor was quite focused on his research, he didn't give too much time for people in his life, I guess."

"So it's regret then."

"Huh?"

She continued. "You regret not being closer to him, isn't that why you keep visiting him."

"Not exactly." He said. "What do you think is wrong with him?"

The woman's expression shifted to a thoughtful one, she put a finger on her lips as though trying to remember something. "I don't know, I'm just a simple nurse after all. His situation is a peculiar one, you know, he doesn't speak at all, but if you give him food he eats it. Give him water and he'll drink it."

The sick doctor's nephew stared at the woman as she continued speaking. Strands of grey hair were visible in her braided black hair and her brown eyes scoured the room, never quite meeting his.

"I happened to be looking after him the day a doctor came in to check him out and the most interesting thing happened. Before she came over, the doctor said we shouldn't feed him, so we didn't. When she came her she said we should give feed him while she observed. He ate his food alright, but afterward the doctor placed a bottle of water next to another bottle with a horribly strange liquid, both unlabeled, and we watched what he would do."

"What did he do?"

"He drank the bottle of water, but left the strange bottle untouched."

"Really?"

"Yes, it was as if he knew which was which." She continued. "It was very wierd."

"Have other wierd things happened?"

Noticing the boy's enthusiasm, she pitied him, from what she heard from the doctors, despite the odd behavior the probability of him recovering was still slim, she really didn't want to give his nephew false hope. "There was this one thing." She bit her lip. "Happened when that same doctor came again, she ignited a lighter and placed it under his palm, he didn't move an inch, even when it burned his skin."

"Really?"

He seemed very disappointed, but it was probably better that way, the woman thought. That event had surprised the female doctor who also believed the man could recover, she came around periodically though, just because of curiosity if anything.

"Thank you." The young man said. Not knowing what to say, the woman responded with a nod. The nephew left after that, to where, she wondered, she supposed the sick doctor, if he could still emote, would be glad that at least one relative cared for him.

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay?" Aki asked, again.

"I'm fine." Yusei retorted. Aki flinched noticeably, Yusei sighed.

They were left with clean-up duty, picking up whatever trash their slobby friends might have left lying around and arranging the stuff they used.

Yusei took a look at Aki, who continued her work. She had kept on pestering him about the whole spacing out thing and while he wasn't angry at her, it was irritating hearing her repeat the same question over and over again, he was fine. "I'm fine." He repeated, completely stolid.

Aki didn't ask again, she completely stopped any attempt at making small talk and instead focused on the task before her. They made their way back into the house and headed to the kitchen where Aki, thanks to her stubborn insistence, did the dishes.

"Are you mad at me?" Yusei asked.

"Why would you think I am?" She replied with a question of her own.

Yusei sighed inwardly, she didn't say no. "You're not talking to me?"

"I am, right now."

"C'mon-"

"You're fine, aren't you? You insist you are so I won't ask again, or bother worrying, since that's what you want."

"I 'am' fine."

Aki began to put away the dishes. "Of course you are, I didn't say you weren't."

Yusei groaned. 'What do you want me to say?' He thought.

"Like that time you didn't sleep for three days, or the time you got food poisoning but decided not to go to the hospital, or that time the generator at your lab exploded, or the time you decided to go up against the Black Rose Witch without thinking twice about it."

"Those are different. You don't see me in pain or bruised, what are you worried about?"

"You, Yusei."

"I'm fine." Yusei stated, he was sure those two words had become the most common he had uttered in the past two days. "Why do you guys think I'm not?"

Done with putting away the dishes, Aki turned to face Yusei. "Because you're you, Fudo Yusei. You're the one who walks around carrying the weight of the world as if everyone tells you to-"

"Well Atlas- and Jack won't." Yusei shrugged.

"You did not just say that." Aki tried to fight against the smile that comment brought to her face, the only thing she succeeded in doing was burating into a fit of giggles. "That was the sky, and I'm serious."

"Well, it's kind of hard to tell when you laugh like that." Yusei smiled.

"I'm serious, Yusei." Aki said after getting the giggles out. "You don't space out repeatedly and say nothing's up."

He raised an eyebrow. "Repeatedly?"

"Yes, Yusei, I noticed you spacing out from the day I came back. I didn't say anything because I thought it would be better if you brought it up yourself, but you haven't, and you probably won't."

"Why should I?" Yusei frowned. "What good could possibly come out of burdening everyone with my problems? Everyone has enough of them already."

"I don't." Aki replied. "It's better to tell someone, you can tell me how you feel, Yusei, but you never do." A questioning look came to Yusei's face. "Even after all the time we've been talking you never say anything about how you feel, about anything that's bothering you."

"Because I don't see the point." His frown deepened, he unintentionally raised his voice. "Why should I go around telling people that because a collegue of mine apparently went mad I'm scared of going crazy too? Why should I admit that the idea of our reunion gave me a sense of foreboding because I'm scared that what happened in the past is going to happen again?"

"Yusei …"

"It doesn't change anything, telling someone about anything." Yusei made for the door. "It's my anxiety, my burden to share, and it's nobody else's business."

Aki could only look on as Yusei left her alone in the kitchen. He still hadn't changed, she realized, not one bit.


	4. Chapter 4

Borrowed Nerves

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" The MC's voice boomed through the arena, eliciting cheers and shouts from the crowd.

"It's the moment you've all been waiting for, the start of the Asia's Top Tournament!"

"Top Duelists from all over the world whose origins trace back to this great continent have gathered here to compete for the title of Asia's Best Duelist!"

Jack had to admit, the Kaiba dome was hardly recognizable anymore, it had gone through so much work he wondered how much of the original remained. It was larger than before, thanks to the numerous additions, and as such Jack was enthusiastic about performing in front of a larger crowd.

All the competitors were sitted in a lounge, waiting to be called upon for their duel. No one knew the person they would face so there was no opportunity for prior preparation, as a result they were all rather bored.

Sitting next to Jack were Crow and Rua, apart from them Jack only recognized a few of the competitors: Freya, Silver and Hibiki. There were two large screens in the lounge for the competitors to watch the Duels with, the MC was just about done with the formalities.

"Now, for the first Duel of the tournament, we'll let the randomizer run!"

A large holographic screen appeared above the dueling field, two boxes could be seen there and as soon as the MC stopped speaking it began shuffling through the pictures of the duelists.

The MC spoke again as the randomizer settled on the faces of two duelists, his pompadour hair bouncing around as he moved. "Ladies and Gentlemen! For the first duel of this tournament, we have on the right side a duelist well known for her grace and skil, Mei Chen!"

Dressed in a shimmering scarlet gown, it was clear that the black haired woman cared a lot about her appearance. Her Duel Disk was strapped on her right hand, also scarlet in colour. She waved to the cheering crowd as she took her place on the dueling field.

"And on the left side," the MC continued. "We have… a very mysterious duelist out to prove her might, Masako Jun!"

Jun's bright purple hair had a bit of shine to it as she walked onto the field, despite not knowing her the crowd still cheered. Unlike her opponent she was dressed simply, opting for a black sweater and brown shorts.

The two females approached each other and engaged in the compulsory hand shake, Jun's frown deepening at the sight of her opponent's smirk.

"Now that the duelists are ready and the formalities are out of the way, it's time to…"

"DUEL!"

Mei: 4000 Jun: 4000

Hearing the entire stadium bellow that one word had a nostalgic effect on Yusei who at the behest of Aki was currently in the audience. He chuckled as Aki joined the crowd in cheering. He wondered when she became so outgoing.

Seeing Yusei laugh made Aki a bit relieved, she had feared that he would let his worries get the better of him. Making him come to the stadium was a good thing after all.

"It looks like Mei will be taking the first turn!" The MC announced, and despite not looking happy about it, Mei complied.

"My turn." She began. "I set a monster and a card face-down, turn end."

* * *

In as much as Yusei enjoyed watching the duel, he felt that he could have enjoyed it more if he was at home. Between the constant giggling and laughing done by Aki, Luna and their friend -the name of whom he needs to ask- and the discomfort brought about by the person to his left rubbing his sweat soaked shirt against him, he was rather irritated.

"Yusei, isn't this fun?" Aki called.

Turning to his right to face her, Yusei agreed despite his reservations. It had managed to get his mind off his worries and dare he say less paranoid.

"I told you it would be fun." She replied smiling.

He returned her smile with one of his own. He could tell that Aki was trying to help, and he was grateful for it. Besides, if his worries were proven right he would be right in the stadium ready to stop whatever danger would occur.

In the few days leading up to the start of the tournament, Yusei was filled with a sense of foreboding, unsettling it was, and knowing he couldn't do anything against the danger he seemed to sense only made it worse. It's interference with his work led to him taking a few days of leave, and in an attempt to help him, Aki insisted they watch the tournament live.

It was a win-win situation now that he thought about it, Aki wouldn't be worried anymore, and should anything happen he would be right there to stop it. This was great.

He tapped the red haired woman, gaining her attention. "I want to get something to eat, I'll be right back." She nodded in acknowledgement and he made to leave the stands.

Yusei let out a sigh of relief as he made it out of the main stadium, boy was he glad to breathe fresh air. A variety of food vendors were present in the stadium, all that remained now was which to choose. A smirk came to Yusei's face, maybe he'll get sushi for Aki just to get on her nerves.

* * *

He just sat there with a book in hand, his peculiar mask obscuring his face. Why would someone like him feel the need to hide themselves? He was good enough to be considered a top tier duelist if he was able to get in the tournament, yet he kept his mask on. What did he want to hide?

Jack occupied himself by musing about the masked duelist. It was insinuated that it had been the same person dueling behind the mask, afterall what kind of officials would let a person use a mask to duel without knowing their face first, or at least using finger prints and the such to identify them. Still, something about him felt off.

As jack wandered within his thoughts, the first duel ended, the purple haired youngster stole the win, as the crowd cheered, both Jun and Mei found their way back into the lounge.

"Looks like you have an admirer, Jack." Crow's voice snapped Jack out of his musings.

"What are you talking about?" The king replied, rather irritated.

"Jun, you didn't see her when she passed by, but she had her eyes on you the entire time."

"Whatever." Jack waved Crow off.

"She pretty cute though, Jack, you shouldn't just leave her hanging."

"Crow, she's like eighteen." Rua stated. "How old are you guys? Like thirty, c'mon!"

"I am not thirty." Crow laughed, indignant. "I'm barely halfway through twenty!"

"Wow, you guys are pretty old." Rua said, narrowing his eyes. "I used to think you would've gotten married by now."

"I'm not that old." The ginger haired male insisted.

"I can already picture you with grey hair." Rua laughed.

"Hey!"

The first duel had ended a short while ago and, while Rua and Crow chatted away, the MC was just about announcing the next.

"For the next duel, we have on the left, a duelist born and bred here in Neo Domino, one of the members of the best dueling team the world has ever seen, Hogan Crow!"

The ginger haired joker ran onto the dueling field, as Jack would put it, smiling like an idiot. He waved a hand to the crowd as they cheered him on.

"On the right, we have a name not known by many, but he has been making waves around Asia, Shinji Tetsuya!"

Crow's opponent walked onto the field, his Duel Disk in hand. Said person possessed short, slightly curly brown hair peeking from below the head warmer. His hazel eyes sending a calculating gaze towards the former signer.

"Now it's time to…"

"DUEL!"

* * *

Jun had decided to take a stroll around the stadium. She could still hear the crowd's noise and the MC's irksome voice.

If there was anything she could hate more right now, it would be obnoxious people-not that she hated the fans or anything, it was just annoying to be around those type of people.

People that didn't pay attention to their environment, people that didn't care about the welfare of others, people that thought they could get away with anything…

'What would father do?' She could help but ask herself everytime.

He would probably say she should move on, forget about it, that it would bring no good. But good wasn't neccessarily what she wanted, it was quite the opposite now. It might be dishonourable to his ideals but he always did say to follow your heart, and this was what hers wanted.

"Oof." Someone grunted a second before she found herself falling onto her backside.

"Sorry, sorry." The person apologized, waiting for her get back on her feet.

"Watch where you're going!" She blurted angrily, bringing herself to her feet.

She was surprised to see who she had just snapped at. "The masked wierdo…" she stated, not caring that the guy was just in front of her.

It was hard to tell if he was offended or not, or even if he heard her, the mask did its job of alienating everybody else well afterall, and without uttering any words he left, leaving the purple haired girl alone once again.

"What a jerk." Hiding behind a mask was such a cowardly thing, she wondered why the dueling federation allowed him to do so. He was probably switching places with other duelists, the whole 'never use the same deck for long' being his cover. It was just pathetic, someone like him didn't deserve to be in the tournament.

But it wasn't time to dwell on that, her current aim was to get something to eat, the tournament organizers hadn't exactly been generous in that aspect. After digging through her already shallow pocket she bought a burger, fries and a smoothie, sitting in the small restaurant, deciding to watch the rest of the matches from there.

The restaurant was mostly devoid of customers as most of people were in the main stadium watching the tournament. From what she could see on the T.V the green haired kid was up, he was dueling against an orange haired man whose name she didn't know, he seemed popular though.

'Should be enough to pass the time.' She shrugged, taking a bite from her burger.

She stopped chewing rather abrubtly as she felt an odd feeling wash over her. Her head swiftly snapped to her left and right and she turned to look behind her. She could have sworn there was someone there…

A thought popped into her head, one she found rather amusing, apparently, as she chuckled. "Yeah right, I'm the wicked one."

* * *

Heaven.

That was the first thing he could think of as soon as he saw it. Beautiful, gorgeous, amazing, wonderful, divine. He could think of all sorts of adjectives to qualify it, that was as close as he could get becuse words fell short of describing what he saw.

It was the closest thing to a paradise, not even Neo Domino had an iota of this grace and tranquil. What he would give to be in a place like this…

Like his legs were on automatic, he found himself moving, away from the hill upon which he once stood, and towards the beautiful land he had beheld.

Each step on the lush and green grass felt like something he had never felt, rather than get tired or expend energy he felt reinvigorated, as though getting closer to the land made one's being better.

An array of flora he passed by, Daffodils, Roses, Lilies, Daisies, Tulips, and he even saw an Amarylis. 'She would like it here.' He thought, his aura emmiting the fondness he felt.

Time flew by really quickly and before he knew it he had passed by springs, waterfalls and geysers, he even had the opportunity of passing through what he would call a reef-for lack of better description.

It was quite weird, too good to be true, he knew he should be wary of it but the place seemed to disable all of his defenses, and he hated it.

He wandered through what would be called a safari, not feeling frightened in the least as he passed by creatures high up in the food chain.

It was magical, he never wanted it to end, he wouldn't know what to do if it ended, he certainly didn't want to go back there, there was nothing for him there.

As though in response to his thoughts the sun pulsed and then began shining brighter, he didn't feel the slightest sensation of heat though, rather it was calming and soothing.

Then everything went dark.

A sharp pain shot through his left foot as his face, along with the rest of his body, burned in pain. He would have made some noise if he could, but he found that his vocal cords didn't seem to be his anymore.

He got to his feet, he could feel it -at least he thought so. Using his hands to feel things out, he resumed moving forward. Unlike the invigoration he experienced before, he gradually became tired.

He tried to ask why, tried to shout for help, but as before his voice wasn't his. A loud shriek echoed loudly and for the first time since his arrival here he felt something negative.

Fear.

And he knew it all to well, why wouldn't he, he'd been feeling it for years now. But this was unlike what he had felt, it was a lot worse, and along with it came feelings of hopelessness and despair.

It felt as though he was dying the most cruel death possible, and nobody seemed to bat an eyelash as he writhed in pain.

He felt a tear roll down his right cheek, then his left cheek, then another and another until it began falling in streams. It was weird, despite all that had happened in his life, never-not even once, had a tear fallen down his cheeks, this entity's sadness and pain was just too overwhelming.

What was causing it so much pain? What was hurting it? Why was it doing it? And why am I feeling the same? His head hurt trying to make head and tails of the situation.

But he hated crying, he already decided he had done enough of that, he wouldn't be weak anymore, he wouldn't let things like that faze him anymore.

Hope, a small glimmer shot through him, his eyelidsseemingly free from whatever had been keeping them shut.

The sight before him was nothing short of horrible, he was just only noticing the repulsive smell of the place, if it wasn't for the need for oxygen, he would have stopped breathing all together.

The land was swampy and wet, oily and muddy, a wrong step, it seemed, could get his entire body sucked into the menacing ground.

The sky was an unnatural and eerie gray, shrubs stuck out at odd places, and as far as he could see the landscape was the same. He continued walking, trying to understand the place he was in, why the changes occured.

Why he thought things would improve puzzled him, that sort of optimism never paid off, never. And he should know, he-

The loud shriek rang out again, it was worse this time, admittedly more of a whine than an actual shriek. It was like the dying noises animals would make, the…

* * *

An opening ceremony, it sounded rather amusing, shouldn't they have done it before the tournament began? 'Now it would just feel like salt on the wounds of the losers.' Jun thought.

The first day had been impressive, there were some strong duelists she had to admit. Jack, Crow, Hibiki and -she reluctantly admitted- Silver were the top contenders, but not for long though, she had every intention on winning, and anyone who came in her way would just have to fall.

The sun was beginning to set, she guessed it was time to leave, figuring it was best to get ready for the ceremony. She was feeling rather positive about her situation, things couldn't have gone any better.

She let out a chuckled as she gloated inwardly, she was much closer now, payback would be certainly worth the wait and effort, she was sure of it.

'Just you wait...'

* * *

"Sorry, I got sidetracked." Yusei said, rubbing his hand uncomfortably, Aki seemed pretty mad. It was understandable though, she did buy the tickets so they could enjoy themselves and support their friends.

Aki's eyes narrowed, disbelief clearly written on her face. It was a fact that when people lied they did certain things unconsciously, Yusei's was averting his eyes and avoiding eye contact. For someone so bold normally, it was quite hard to miss.

"It was work, wasn't it." She said. "Yusei we're supposed to enjoy ourselves, what's the point of taking a leave if you're still planning on working?"

He didn't respond, maybe he didn't want to or maybe he didn't know what to say, frankly she didn't care. "I don't understand why you want to work so much, you've been doing it for years now, isn't it enough?"

"It's not like that-" Yusei finally spoke. "I-"

"Just spent the entire day wandering around, huh?" She cut him off. "Why can't you just loosen up once in a while?"

She was gone before he could reply, her footsteps echoing through the empty hallway.

Yusei sighed. Why was she so mad? She had Ruka and her friend with her, didn't she? While her anger confused him, he had to admit, that was certainly a first, how she vented and stormed off, was it wrong how he didn't feel too bothered by that?

Being so stoic, he didn't look fazed in the least, and he figured that it made it worse. He would have to apologize later, maybe she just needed some time to cool off, he knew he did, besides what was he supposed to tell her, that now instead of just hallucinating he was losing time, forgetting things, she had made it pretty clear how worried she was about him and he had no intention of making her worry more.

But he had to admit, it was something worth worrying about, he couldn't remember a thing that had happened after he left to get the snacks, not a single thing, no matter how hard he tried. It didn't bode well, he knew that much, but he had to keep it to himself, nobody could help him but himself after all.


	5. Chapter 5

To Dust In a Week

Aki pushed the button and the bell rung again, this made it four times it had rung. Just as she was about to push the button again, the door opened.

Yusei found himself unable to speak as he saw Aki, her beauty was mesmeric, she was wearing a tight-fitting strapless black gown which accentuated her figure quite nicely. She did something with her hair too, he didn't know what to call it exactly, but it was nicely tied up in a bun above her head. It almost looked like she cut it, he would have never imagined …

"Yusei?! You look like hell!"

"I-I'm sorry." Yusei stammered. "Aki, I meant to call but I … guess I … slept off? Either that or I passed out."

That sounded like a lie, why would he lie? "We can still make it of you hurry." Aki said, managing to control her shock.

"I don't think I can, sorry." Yusei replied. "I feel like my head's about to burst. It's really bad."

"When did it start?" Aki asked, while slightly worried another part of her thought Yusei was making it up.

"This morning, I think."

"You're sure you can't attend the opening ceremony? You were personally invited, you know."

"I know, but I don't want to end up fainting there," Yusei said. "I feel like if I push myself too much I would."

Aki frowned, disappointed, she was looking foward to the ceremony. "Fine. I'll go get some medicine for you, stay put, I'll be back."

"Uh, sure."

Yusei watched as she left, her chauffeur driving her off. He pushed the door, closing it but not quite locking it. He clutched his head as he walked to his fridge, opening it he began looking for something cold enough to place on his throbbing head. Aki seemed enthusiastic about attending the ceremony, he felt rather bad about not going, but his head really ached him and he was sure it would get worse if he stressed himself, he just felt like lying down somewhere till the pain stopped.

Quite some time elapsed before Aki returned, the door was still unlocked so she didn't need to ring the bell. She found the crab haired man sitting on the couch watching a cheesy telenovela on the T.V.

"I didn't know liked telenovas, Yusei." She spoke. "I'm actually quite shocked you watch television even."

"Hey, I'm human like everyone else you know."

She laughed, sitting next to him, she dropped the packs of medicine on the table. "Well, what's it about?"

"Typical love triangle with two guys fighting over the girl." Yusei said. "I've never watched this before, so that's my first impression." He looked at her, noticing her change of clothes, she now wore a simple T-shirt and black pants, figures, she couldn't wear the gown anymore since they wouldn't be attending the ceremony, though he wouldn't have minded her leaving it on. "What do you suppose is going on at the ceremony?"

"I don't know, now that I think of it, I have no idea what could possibly go on there."

* * *

Rua shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He normally wasn't shy, but the circumstances were usually different so this was an exception. "We're the only kids here." He whispered.

"I thought we were adolescents." Rebecca whispered back.

Her reply didn't help and Rua just sunk lower into his seat. Though he wouldn't say it to anyone, despite how glaringly obvious it was, he had taken a liking to the blond haired girl. He and Rebecca had hung out many times, but it had been just that; hanging out. In a fortunate twist of fate, via an unfortunate event, her entire family had returned to Japan for her grandfather's burial, Rua sympathized with her, but he realized this was his chance to take things to another level.

However, the 'date' was a disaster so far, the ceremony was as far from fun as something could possibly be. Ruka always said he acted like an idiot because he didn't think enough, she would be right, he probably didn't think enough about this and he was facing the consequences.

Rua groaned in frustration, his head hanging low, as the older people walked about talking with one another. Suddenly an idea popped into his head, it was a long shot but he though it was best to go for it, taking risks was something he had learned to do, and often times they paid off. "I have an idea! Come on, I want to show you something." Rua stood up, offering a hand.

Rebecca took it, she couldn't see how things could get any worse.

As Rua pulled his love interest away from the ceremony, Jack Atlas and Crow Hogan were just arriving.

It might have been his imagination, but he felt all eyes focus on him as he stepped into the hall, judgemental stares and the very, very minute amound of concerned gazes alike.

He didn't care though, they could stare for as long as they wanted, he didn't care.

"Shut up." He grunted, taking a seat beside a smirking Crow.

"Doesn't it feel great to be here?"

"Yeah, I feel better already." Jack rolled his eyes.

"See." His smirk widened. "I told you so."

"I was being sarcastic, you idiot."

"Name calling, really Jack?" Crow said.

"Where's Yusei anyway? I don't see him being dragged here." The blond haired man enquired.

"He's a matter for another day." Crow answered. "Besides, he didn't embarass himself on national T.V." Jack grit his teeth at this but the ginger haired man continued. "Oh wait, it was continental T.V, or was that a worldwide broadcast-"

"I remember being begged to come here, I can't imagine it was so you could rub salt in my wounds." Jack interrupted.

"Well, what are friends for?" Crow replied.

Jack diverted his attention elsewhere, the hall was rather well decorated and a lot of people were in attendance, he could pick out a few recognizable faces, he even though he saw Alin's face. He was pretty sure that man was stalking him.

The most awkward thing, despite how clićhe it seemed, happened, they made eye contact. How they quickly averted their eyes seemed reminescent of how crushing high school students acted, or at least how the media portrayed such, he never went to high school.

"What?" Crow asked, noticing the man groan. "Oh. Dude you had better not leave without apologizing."

"Apologize? It was being attacked, what was I to do?" Jack retorted in a whisper, still aware of his environment.

"Not flip out." Crow responded.

"I don't like this sudden concern for me." Jack flatly stated.

"You don't have to, I couldn't care less."

Jack smiled, somehow Crow's meddling made him feel better. He still wouldn't stop insulting the ginger haired male when he acted stupidly though. "You eat like a pig."

"If I didn't know you didn't mean that entirely I would deck you right now." Crow said.

"Please, your reluctance is clearly due to fear of retaliation." Jack smugly replied. "We all know how much fear is instilled in those who hear the words 'Atlas Punch'."

"Yeah, we do." Crow replied. "The strike of he who fears commitment."

"Ow!" Crow exclaimed rather loudly. "Jeez, sorry! Don't crush my foot." Crow left the blond haired man, patting the man on his back and uttering one word before he did. "Goodluck."

Jack exhaled deeply, he hadn't felt this nervous in years. He could remember the first duel he had in Neo Domino city, he was so close to backing down and running away, of course he never told anybody that.

She was standing at the balcony, looking outside with her hands on the railing. He walked slowly, as if struggling against a magnetic force pulling him back.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there behind her without saying anything, he wasn't sure she noticed, hopefully she didn't. With fingers crossed he finally opened his mouth to speak, the two words that came out he hadn't spoken in a really, really long time, hell he didn't even remember if he had ever said them.

"I'm sorry."

"What?" She snapped back, startled, her long blue hair whipping around beautifully.

"About yesterday, the interview." Jack said. "I'm sorry."

You could tell how uncomfortable she was about the topic by the way her she rubbed her arm. "No problem, I'm not mad at you." She finally spoke.

"I feel really bad about it, I hope I didn't cause much trouble." He managed to say, his words spaced out.

"Don't worry, everything's alright." She replied. "I would be more worried about you though."

"I'm fine."

She obviously didn't believe that, not for a second. Her eyes seemed to gaze right at his soul from behind the swirls of her spectacles, somehow she always knew when he was lying. "You know the media's not going to let this go."

"Well, me of all people should know that by now." Jack said, giving an obviously fake smile.

"Oh, that." Carly whispered.

The atmosphere was as awkward as Jack knew it would, what he would have given to have Crow say something stupid right there. "Aren't you gonna go back to the hall? Maybe get a few drinks?"

Taking a look at her phone, Carly replied. "Thanks, but I have to get going now." She began to leave. "Uh, see you around I guess."

"Yeah… see you around." Jack muttered. She looked stunning in the purple gown , he just seemed to realize, not even noticing until now that she had grown out her hair.

He sighed, taking her former position next to the railing, looking out at nothing in particular.

The moon was nowhere to be found, and the only illumination in the night sky the negligible twinkle of stars. Below that were the building in Neo Domino, their lights shining brightly as though to validate their existence.

Letting out a groan, the world king slapped a hand on his forehead. Deciding it was better not to stay moping - at least not in public - he left the balcony, going back into the main hall.

"So how'd it go?" Crow asked as soon he saw the blond haired man.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Rebecca asked as she and Rua got out of a cab.

"You'll see." The green haired teen replied. "Close your eyes first."

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Rebecca asked. "Is this really necessary?"

"Yes, its a surprise."

They stood just outside a large, silver dome shaped building which while not as large as the Kaiba dome was still a magnificent sight.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"Just please close your eyes." Rua pouted. "Please."

She begrudgingly obliged, why did he have to go all pouty on her.

"Don't open them till I say so." Rua said, grabbing her arm, walking beside her and leading her.

"We're not there yet?"

"Almost." Rua replied. To Rebecca they seemed to have been walking for longer than they actually had, being unable to see had that effect on her.

"Wha-" she found herself pushed down to a seat, she could her date's retreating footsteps. "Rua?"

"Wait! don't open them yet." He replied, his voice still far off.

"Okay," after a minute or two, he said. "You can open them now. Tada!"

"Ice skates?"

"Au contrare, mademoiselle." Rua said in an exageratted fashion. "Special Ice skates. Put them on first, you'll soon see the surprise."

They two sat in some sort of locker room as they put on the 'special ice skates. Rebecca had to admit, the ice skates were rather heavy, they possessed two blades underneath and seemed to be made entirely of metal. "I'm not sure if I can skate in these, aren't they a bit too heavy?"

"Of course not, they're perfect."

"I don't feel so good, maybe we should do this another time." The girl argued.

"C'mon," Rua argued in a rather whiny voice. "This date had been horrible, let me at least try to make it better."

Rua began pulling her towards the rink and Rebecca became apprehensive. "I really don't think this is a good idea … because- " Rua increased his speed, bursting through the doors ahead and pulling her onto the ice. " … I can't skate!

"Surprise!"

Instinctively, she closed her eyes and grabbed Rua, hugging him tightly as they both skidded across the rink. "It's not funny." She punched him lightly, hearing him laugh.

"Just open your eyes, you won't fall." Rua affirmed.

Slowly Rebecca's eyelids went up and her sight returned. "Rua!" She shrieked, grabbing him tightly. She opened her eyes again, looking intently at the ground, no, the space beneath them.

At first, she had thought they were falling, as crazy as that sounds, they were floating ... they were actually levitating, skidding across the air. "How?"

"I'm not exactly sure." Rua replied, smiling. "I heard about this place from Yusei, his team designed the whole thing, it's supposed to open a week or two from now, he brought us here to check it out once … don't tell him we were here, please?"

"Sure." She replied, still looking below as Rua danced along, pulling her with him. There was a low glow emanating below, along with the hum of working machinery amplified to rather a loud level now that it was night, she couldn't make out from what it came due to the dim lighting.

"Yusei said something about using momentum and some kind of superconductors or so." Rua informed.

"Ooh. Cool." Rebecca replied. She would have to find way to speak to Yusei, she'd always heard of how advance Neo Domino city was, but now that she saw it she found herself admiring the man a bit. "This city is really something, huh?"

"Sure is."

Through the ceiling the night sky could be seen, the moon light crept into the rink, if it could still be called that. Myriad of particles floated in the air, being only visible in the silver moon light gave the illusion that they were a constituent, it was an odd sort of beauty to see.

"Was it good?"

"What?" A puzzled Rebecca asked.

"The ... date, I know it w-"

Her heart jumped. Rua had stopped talking suddenly, now having a scary look on his face. "What happened?!" She let put in a uncharacteristically loud voice.

"Was that person always there?" He pointed behind her, someone was slumped over at the edge of the rink. He moved past her, slowly but at the same time in a hurried fashion.

"Wait!" She followed, it was oddly easy to move, all she had to do was lean foward and move her legs in a way similar to walking.

It was a man, judging by the physique of the person. Both his hands and head were into the vacant side of the rink where the levitation magic took place, but only his hands reached far enough to get pushed up, giving them the impression that he was holding them up. Rua looked at her in a questioning manner, she gave his the same look.

"Um … mister?" She tapped the man on the shoulder. "Mister?" She brought her hand to his immobile one, aiming to give him a shake and hopefully wake him up.

Rebecca hated screaming, she felt all it ever did was undermine one's self, it was always the perfect tool to set up some stupid knight in shining armor, she really despised it. This time, however, she couldn't help it, it was a special case, a very very special one. A piercing scream, a glass shattering one, escaped her throat as she shook the man's hand … the arm came off.

* * *

The police had arrived a few minutes after, Rua and Rebecca sat some feet away from the ambulance as they carried the man's body away. Rebecca was shivering, jumpy, overall scared, and Rua wasn't any better, he felt sick, his stomach felt bubbly and saliva accumulated in his mouth uncontrollably, he spat out as much as he could, but it just kept coming.

He suddenly hurtled towards a wastebin closeby and, unable to keep it in any longer, spilled out the contents of his stomach, the food from the ceremony, oh that delicious shrimp … He had been through quite the adventure years ago, but he had never seen someone is such a state as the man had been. The man's face was pallid and thin, the skin on his face stuck to his skull and Rua could see every crevice, every vertex, and every edge of each of the surface bones that consisted his face.

His eyeballs were dried up, dead, his eyesockets hollow, disgustingly vacant, his lips seemed to have shrinked, becoming barely noticeable so that he seemed to lack a mouth. When his arm had come off, not a drop of blood came out, leading Rua to conclude that it as though his entire circulatory system was empty, nothing more than a collection of empty canals with nothing to channel.

He looked at Rebecca, wondering she was able to keep her food in her stomach despite being the unfortunate one to have the arm break in her hand.

"What happened to him?" She asked a man walking towards them, he wasn't sporting a police uniform, but judging by the suit he was garbed in he might have been a detective.

"The medical team are yet to determine that." He answered cooly. "What happened in there? How did you find him?"

"W-we were just … skating," she gulped, "then we found him slumped over at the edge of the rink."

"Was he there before?"

"I don't think so … I don't remember seeing anyone there."Rua joined in the conversation.

"Are you sure?" The man persisted.

"Yes … I think so." Rua answered, becoming unsure of himself. The man raised an eyebrow. "It- It was dark … we couldn't have seen him even if he was there … I don't think so."

"You'll both have to give a statement at the station, so try to remember, try hard." The man said, leaving them for the time being.

The sound of the sirens in the background sounded muffled even as they blared loudly and the moon had become hidden behind the clouds above. The night had started off boring, later becoming interesting, then without warning it had turned into the worst, the absolute worst.

* * *

Dr. Armin's cousin, known to the woman at the reception only as Anselm, stuffed a small notebook into his pocket as the door swung open, entering the room was a woman, the doctor, he presumed.

"Sorry, I'm was just on my way out." He said as he rose from the chair.

The doctor watched him leave, not saying a word even when he uttered a greeting before closing the door.

"Wait!"

Anselm looked back, seeing the doctor walk towards him, and in an odd bovine fashion, he turned around, checking for any other person she might have been calling. "Me?" He put a hand on his chest.

"Yes," she replied. "You're his nephew, right?"

"Yeah."

"Could I have a word with you?" Her eyes narrowed.

"Sure." Anselm agreed. She gestured to the room, and he followed her in.

She sat on the chair next to the table while he sat on the bed, beside a peacefully sleeping Armin whose body was curled up in an odd childish fashion.

"I'm sorry, come again."

The doctor rubbed the side of her arm uncomfortably, obviously nervous. "I'm just curious, I mean. They're probably sitting somewhere in a store … and I was just wondering, since you're his cousin, you could help me get them, they'd allow you, right?"

"Maybe." Anselm narrowed his eyes, staring at the woman, making note of her every expression. "Probably." She returned his stare with one of hers and he caved, averting his eyes uncomfortably. "I'll … see what I can do."

"Really?" Her eyes lit up in excitement. "Thank you."

He didn't let up his suspicious gaze, he knew it would be odd if she didn't notice it. "No problem." He added: "Just take care of him."

"You can count on me." She stated cheerily as Anselm left the room, his mind occupied with silent contemplation.


	6. Chapter 6

Wrong From Afar

Three days had gone by pretty quickly, soon Rua was in the Kaiba dome, about to face the purple haired girl in a duel for a spot in the semi-finals, he still hadn't forgotten the dead man incident, but he knew if he didn't focus on the duel he would lose, his opponent's expression assured him of that.

Jun held her duel disk up, ready to begin the duel. She gave Rua a once-over, she had seen him on the news some days ago, apparently he had found some dead body, she didn't care though, it was his fault if he let it get to him and lost as a result.

The MC's voice could be heard as he made his signature declaration" … It's time to …"

"DUEL!"

Yusei could not begin to fathom the level of incompetency and -sorry to say- stupidity required for what he was hearing to be true.

"Sorry." He stated, his tone abrasive and rather intimidating. "Could you repeat that."

"I-I, we-" the person at the other end of the line stuttered.

"What?!"

Aki gave the scientist a worried glance, wondering what could have happened to make him raise his voice. She wasn't sure she had ever seen him this mad.

"Dr Armin's office was robbed."

"And who was this thief?"

"I- we don't know."

Yusei grit his teeth in annoyance. "Whatever happened to the surviellance tapes?"

"They can't be found." The man more or less whispered. "But there's no reason to-"

He cut the call, putting a hand to his forehead.

"Did something happen?" Aki asked, he could barely hear her over the crowd's noise.

There he was, seated in the Kaiba dome along with Aki, Ruka and the red haired girl he had come to known as Jessica, the first match of the second day just about to begin.

"There was a theft at the lab, I have to go." Yusei answered.

"Do you really have to?" Aki asked. "We just got here, and what good will it do to go there now?"

"They raided Dr. Armin's office."

"And what will you do there, go on a manhunt to find the thieves?" Aki reasoned. "There's no point in worrying over it, just leave it to the professionals."

"Right." He left.

"Um, Aki, is everything okay?" Ruka asked.

"Its fine." Aki answered.

"But where's Yusei going to?"

"His lab."

"Why? But we just got here."

"Who knows why exactly he does half the things he does." Aki replied, frowning.

It was clear that Aki was mad at him so Ruka didn't press the matter any further.

* * *

The room was bare, looked as good as new, the thieves had been meticulous alright.

Yusei walked around the room, getting more pissed off as he noticed things.

Every piece of document, every book, every memo and sticky note, every crumpled paper in the trash was gone, even Armin's scribbles and scrawls were notoriously missing, either they had either cleaned them off or repainted the room.

Yusei dragged a finger along the wall, it was dry, and the room didn't smell like wet paint. It was mind boggling, how it had skipped the mind of whoever was responsible for such to clear the room.

It was weird, it had never crossed his mind to check out Armin's research until now. It never seemed important, never seemed to register in his anxious mind to even step into the room.

But why would anyone want to take his work, was it so important that they had to be this meticulous. Armin always worked alone, hardly ever spoke to others, he always came through when called upon but despite that nobody ever recognized it, not even Yusei himself.

How could someone like him fly under the radar so conveniently?

"Excuse me sir?"

"What?"

"Th-the police are here, they'll want to look at the room." The security guard said, flinching at the scientist's tone.

Yusei stormed off without uttering another word, he had work to do.

* * *

Facebook, none. Neither existed any accounts under the name Armin Paul on Twitter, Instagram, MySpace or any other social network. Yes, his first name was Paul - Yusei had just found that out after skimming through his lab file.

Armin had no internet presence whatsoever, except the numerous articles - a surprising number - about his work, there was no other mention of him. He had done well in keeping his personal life off the net.

Yusei closed his eyes, nothing annoyed and frustrated him more than the feeling of cluelessness. He sat at the desk in the office, his laptop placed before him, silently pondering on what to do next.

It wasn't too long before he had resigned to reading the comment section of the articles in which Armin was mentioned. Most of the comments involved acknowledge and praise of his work, there was the occassional trolling but one comment caught Yusei's attention.

It was on an article about a rather controversial topic: time travel.

"Interesting." Yusei had to admit, he watched the accompanying video and he was impressed. "You never know what you have, huh."

It wasn't exactly the question asked that interested Yusei, it was the fact that Armin had replied. There was a long back and forth between the scientist and the user who went by the alias 'Greyhands'.

They had later deviated off topic, but from what Yusei could see, Greyhands was a rather knowledgeable about Physics.

"Let's see what I can find about you, Greyhands." The raven haired man muttered.

* * *

Sharp silver blades swiftly ripped through the magestic dragon. Hara let out a startled gasp, suddenly grateful for the lack of gore.

Jack: 2700 Hara: 1000 - 0

"And Jack Atlas comes out victorious!"

To Jack, the crowd's roar never sounded like it did now, now it felt pointless and irrelevant. The very thing he'd sought after his entire life, suddenly it was nothing to him.

"In an overwhelming display of skill, Jack has defeated the Light Mistress Hara Hokuto!"

The scythe wielding fiend that had single handedly taken down Hara floated besides Jack, slowly stroking the deadly blade as it faded away.

Hara frowned. "Good game." She simply stated.

"Likewise." Jack reply being nothing more than a half-hearted mumble.

"Next we have Crow Hogan going…"

Jack tuned out the MC, the man's shouting turning into an indistinct murmur as the king made his way back into the stadium.

Ever since the interview mishap, he'd found himself thinking about his life more often, questioning the decisions and choices he'd made. He felt rather shallow now, maybe he'd always been that way but never realized it.

Suddenly he scoffed in disgust, since when did he, Jack Atlas, the world king, get sulky after taking a loss. Life had dealt him a bad hand but that never impeded his progress, he hadn't acted a fool and played it, he had changed his hand. He had bent reality till it fit his vision.

If he happened to dislike what his reality was, he would just change it again. He would change it…

* * *

It was futile, this search-Yusei had realized-was based on a very, very slim whim, one which had produced nothing tangible. "So much for Greyhands." He muttered.

Dr Armin had really been a smart man and his papers showed as much, it was unfair that whatever governing force of the universe deemed it okay to have him reduced to the mess that he had become.

The man clearly had ideas, good ones, so good that leaving them to stay as such would be insulting, at least Yusei thought.

'I might not have known him as much as I should have, but I believe that his ideas deserve to be more than just ideas.' Yusei stood from his table, chuckling a bit. "…we're similar like that, I guess."

He grabbed a notebook, proceeding to scribble down as much as possible on Dr Armin's work. From the little interaction Yusei had with the doctor he could tell the man believed momentum's utilization to be limitless, able to solve most problems and launch one past their obstacles. Yusei wondered if this was what he had been missing in his life after team 5D's split; something to do, something to accomplish, something he could be passionate about.

Time would tell, Yusei concluded. But his foreboding did not leave and at the back of his mind Yusei still felt something was wrong, this time he chose to pay it no mind, his worrying had only made his sanity questionable, maybe Aki was right afterall…

He should just relax… yes, relax he would. He would forget about all his suspicions and relax.

* * *

In his teenage years, Suzuki Hatake developed an interest in Biology and Chemistry, it was odd and sudden, but it spurred him on to study medicine in college. It had paid off though, he guessed, now he was working in forensics as a part of the Japanese Police force, and in a few months he would be getting married.

This was his first time in Neo Domino city, he had always wanted to see the famed city for himself, his job did not allow him to so he was a quite glad to hear he would be travelling there for a job, but the trip was not going to allow sight seeing, he now knew that.

He was considered quite the prodigy in his field, having played a major part in apprehending many criminals, including the infamous Oki Ken, more commonly known as the 'Speed-chess hitman'.

Hatake smiled. The Speed-chess hitman, he would make sure he told his future children about that, when they were old enough of course, that cae was … interesting. But the case he was faced with in Neo Domino was different, he dare say more challenging than the Speed-chess', and that was saying a lot.

The corpse was laid out before him about an hour ago and he found himself still staring at it with obtuse astonishment, he never seen anything like it. The victim's grotesque remnants of a face stared back through the glass lid of the apparatus that kept the body at a constant temperature well below zero degrees celsius.

The two hands were no longer a part of the corpse (the second one had broken off as they tried to lift the body, the medic team's report said) and instead were arranged at the sides, the legs, while still attached, were dried up and thin, and the toes, like the fingers, seemed to have suffered a severe case of frostbite, a peculiar observation because if the body had been frozen whole that should not happen.

None of the Neo Domino practitioners had touched the body yet, he supposed they, just like him, feared whatever evidence could be salvaged from the horribly maligned corpse could be destroyed if they did. Sweat found its way to different part of his body as though his pores had suddenely been magnified, he hadn't felt this clueless and nervous - frightened, perhaps - since he had to work with a cadaver for the first time.

From the witnesses' statement, it was stated that the man was bent over the rink, and they hadn't seen him on entering, it seemed impossible for someone to dump a body there without the witness' knowing, but if the body had been there for a long time why would it still be so cold. Unlike what was portrayed in movies, if a person is frozen completely, it'll still take a considerable amount of stress to detach an appendage, trying to shake the hand, as the girl said she did, would be inadequate to achieve that.

Now that he thought about it, how would anybody move a frozen body and get it to lean over a rink? Did they freeze the man while he leaned over the rink? No … no, the rink would be too cold for the witnesses to stay there let alone even find the body. This was one of two things, either impossible or the product of a unbelievably smart person, leagues past the Speed-chess' level, who had ample resources.

The police were scouring every camera footage of the area, going as far back as a week ago, while they waited for that, Hatake thought it might be time to finally tamper with the body. They would obtain as much samples as possible (it really didn't seem like they were any though) and then maybe they would finally bring the corpse to room temperature and see how it reacts. He had no intent to give up and admit defeat, if there was anything he hated completely, it was admiting defeat. Many were the problems that quality created for him, but ever since Saya always said she especially liked that about him, he stopped trying to repress it.

Hataka made for the door, aiming to talk to the people on his team, they had work to do.


	7. Chapter 7

The Semi-finals

In medical school, you were taught that nervousness could kill, a unconscious twitch, a nervous slip, and frightened hesistation could all kill, sloppyness was not an option. Prior to his involvement with Law Enforcement, Hatake had a brief stint in a small city hospital where he worked as a surgeon and his hands had become a steady as a rock, so with a scapel in his hand, he set to begin his examination of the corpse.

He could hear his slow breathing even under his mask, the rest of his team looked on intently as he brought the scapel down to the dead skin.

"I- I'm sorry, I can't do this!" A member of the team ran out, a hand covering her mouth, while another held her tummy.

Hatakes eye twitched in irritation. He got that she was new and all but he certainly didn't need … that.

He took a deep breath, then he brought the blade down.

* * *

Aki stared her shabby looking reflection in the mirror, maintaining the look most percieved normal was such a hassle. Careful appliance of a handful of beauty products, precise hair styling, and spending a voluminous amount of time picking out an attire to wear, all to get a smile from the people around and despite how insignificant an effect it had on her, she always found herself doing the same thing each day.

The red haired girl groaned in annoyance, the trip had turned out quite odd. She heard her phone vibrate, checking it she saw a message from Rua requesting she meet up with the rest of the team at Yusei's place. A sigh, due to tiredness or perhaps displeasure, escaped her lips, she was going to oblige still.

As she continued getting ready for the day she went over the events of the previous day. After Yusei pulled his disappearing act, as was becoming usual, she had watched the rest of the tournament along with Ruka and her friend, Jack had won his match quite easily, Crow too, albiet his was slightly more difficult, the masked duelist had won his opponent; Hibiki, which was, apparently, a shocking result to the viewers, Rua had unfortunately lost his while the purple haired girl advanced.

The green haired boy was pretty affected by his loss and seemed especially peeved that neither Ruka nor Jessica had been there to cheer him on, she would imagine that he would be more grateful for them not witnessing his loss, but maybe he had changed a little after all. She supposed the incident at the rink contributed to his loss, though when she voiced this he strongly opposed the notion.

Sure she might have smiled and laughed during the tournament, but that didn't mean she was enjoying herself. She didn't come all the way to Neo Domino to watch a bunch of grown men and women make money playing what should have been, and perhaps stayed, a children card game. She wouldn't tell the others, but Yusei was the primary reason for her being there, ever since the whole signer business she'd always felt there was something between them, even when she left they had still kept in touch, it felt like their relationship could develop into something more than just friendship.

Now that she was done with medical school actual practice was what she wanted to do and there was quite a number of places she could work at, most were far awar from Neo Domino which would have consequently prevented a relationship with Yusei whose main focus was on momentum related works which Neo Domino was essential to, apparently. This trip was supposed to help her in her decision, she was meant to find out if their relationship would ever amount to anything, but it was a bit shaky so far. She and Yusei had a few moments, but that was all they were: moments.

Yusei was odd, he really confused her. Sometimes he would seem interested other times he would completely shut everyone out, sometimes even while they talked he would be thinking about an entirely different thing. She felt like he took her presence for granted, it pained her that he did so.

"Great." She muttered. She had spent too much time thinking, then again they didn't exactly say when she should go so it didn't matter, besides her being late wouldn't change anything, nobody really noticed anyway…

The chauffeur drove rather slowly, as he always did. Aki's father had deemed it fit that his only daughter had her personal ride, he was rather overprotective and if Aki had let him have his way she would probably have at least one bodyguard following her around, she didn't see why she needed such protection when she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself.

It had been quite some time before Aki arrived at Yusei's house. Almost all of the gang were absent, Ruka was conspicuously missing, nobody seemed able to say why though.

She asked the obvious question, "Where's Yusei?"

"He said he had a project to work on." Rua replied, his disappointment clearly

Rua, Jessica, Crow, and herself were all who were present. "What about Jack and Ruka?"

Rua frowned. "I don't know about Jack, but Ruka's on a date, apparently."

Not wanting to be rude Aki decided to sit, she couldn't just leave immediately. She hadn't bothered picking any fancy clothes to wear, instead opting for sweatpants and a simple blouse, she lazily gazed around the apartment, having nothing to do.

Rua walked up to Aki, speaking rather uncomfortably. "Um … Jessica and I are leaving now. I planned to introduce her to the entire gang but everybody else seems busy."

"No problem, I hope you guys have a nice time." Aki replied.

"Okay, later." Rua replied.

"It was nice meeting you." Rua's red haired companion waved at Crow.

"Likewise." Crow replied, they shut the door behind them and he plopped into the sit next to Aki.

"We haven talked recently, huh, Crow?" Aki sighed, she and Crow were never the closest of friends but they got along quite well.

"Yeah, everybody seems to have their own agenda these days." Crow agreed. "So what's your problem?"

"What do you mean?"

"C'mon," Crow laughed. "The frowning and sighing, and you're wearing normal sweatpants and a shirt."

"What's wrong with my clothes?" Aki asked, suddenly feeling self conscious.

"Normally you'd be dressed more … over the top, especially when visiting Yusei."

"Can't I just decide to not do that?" She asked. "It doesn't mean anything's wrong."

"Really?" Crow stared.

"Yes," Aki said. "… fine." She caved. "Were you always this annoying?"

"I'd like to think so." The ginger haired man beamed.

"I don't know, I guess I feel lonely somewhat."

"Yeah, with Yusei turning his attention to his new found passion for work why wouldn't you?"

"Ye- what?!" Aki blurted out, a slight blush dusting her cheeks. "H-How did Yusei get into this conversation."

"Wow," Crow laughed. "I can't believe you're getting flustered over that, things must be really bad."

"Why do I feel like I was just insulted?" Aki said, composing herself.

"Jeez, just talk to him." Crow said. "It's like both of you are just waiting for the other to say something, at this rate nobody will, you're not getting any younger after all."

"You're sounding like my mother right now."

"But really, you guys should talk about your whole situation, or it'll never get anywhere." Crow continued.

Aki thought for a while. "Fine, I'll give it a shot."

"Of course you will, you can always trust Crow Hogan for A-plus advice." He announce, giving an over-the-top smile.

Aki couldn't stop herself from laughing. "What's your own agenda, Crow? You're oddly cheery these days."

"Me?" the ginger haired man asked. "I'm just the average helpful friend to everybody."

"Really? One of these days I'll have to return the favour then."

"You can try to." Crow said, heading for the door.

Aki followed him. "What does that mean?"

"I'm a perfect allrounder at life, I don't imagine you'll ever get the opportunity."

Aki laughed, closing the door behind her. She stopped, suddenly realizing something. "What about Yusei's house? Does he have another key or something?"

Crow smirked. "I don't know, I don't think so …"

Aki's smile faltered, she looked at the smirking ginger haired man warily. "But ... there's a key here and-"

"You'll just have to go and give him or risk locking him out then!" He shouted as he zoomed off.

"Wait!" Aki blurted as Crow ran off, for a man in his mid-twenties he sure hadn't grown. She sighed as she locked the door to the scientist's house, wondering what she would do.

* * *

Curly brown hair flopped around as a man cackled loudly, swinging uncontrollably, spilling some of the contents of the bowl he held.

"Don't spill milk on my laptop." Jun berated him as she walked by. "Why can't you watch it on your own laptop?"

"This is hilarious." The man shouted between laughs.

"I get it's funny, but you're over doing it." Jun, slightly confused, stated. "And this is coming from me."

"C'mon, you can't tell me you didn't find it this funny?"

Jun stared at him. "I probably did, the first time I watched it, but you've watched it more than five times in a row, dude this is odd."

"I'm not crazy if that's what you're thinking."

"Whatever." She walked away. "I'm going out, don't destroy my house while I'm gone."

"Sure, sure." He waved her off, the door slammed shut and Tetsuya Shinji resumed his cackling.

"I agree with her, this is highly disturbing." A clearly feminine voice said.

Startled, Tetsuya allowed his bowl of cereal to fall to the floor, the young man cried out as it did. "Stop doing that!" He blurted, proceeding to flip the light switch and illuminate the room. It took a while for his eyes to get used to the light, but as soon as they did Tetsuya cast his gaze at the other presence in the room.

The woman sat on an armchair in the slightly cramped living room. Her luscious brown hair was tied into a single braid which lay on the head of the chair, her brown irises scanned her smartphone as she swiped across its screen. "Dr Armin's lab was raided, did you know about that?"

"… no." He slowly answered, sending a wary glance her way.

"You're not bothered by this."

"Why should I be?" Tetsuya asked, a puzzed expression on his face.

The woman spoke again, her eyes still glued to her phone's screen. "You don't care that his secrets will fall into the wrong hands."

"Hasn't it already?" He said jokingly. The woman looked up, now staring at him. "Don't play dumb, we both know you have them." Tetsuya laughed.

"We do, don't we." She smiled, this in turn caused the black haired man to take a step back.

He gulped. "A-aren't you mad about what happened in the tournament?"

"Initially, I was." The woman stood, she began walking towards Shinji. "I have a backup plan now, so you can relax." She stopped beside the tensed man. Despite her imposing appearance she was shorter than shinji, and rather slim too, dressed in a black suit she exuded a no-nonsense business aura.

"Listen carefully I have something you must do in order for this plan to work though." She said. "Sad as it is to admit, Jun will most probably not get into the final so here's what you have to do …"

..l

"Jack Atlas … you are a funny man." Tetsuya chuckled, the woman was gone now, he was alone in the house.

On the laptop screen a video file was paused such the the face of the reigning duel king was all that could be seen, and fury was written over his face. "That camera guy sure didn't like you, with how he zoomed in and captured your rage one would think it was planned." Tetsuya laughed.

The video was of a recent interview with a certain blue haired television personality, a few questions concerning his love life sent Jack Atlas into an unexpected fit of rage. 'I guess being an asshole for all those years finally got to him.'

His image definitely took a hit, but Tetsuya didn't feel sorry for him, it's only natural that karma caught up with him. What goes around comes around, and oh what great stuff he had coming for him … they all did, the entire team of heroes…

* * *

Until the day of the semi-finals for the duel tournament, three days of rest remained and each duelist had their way of relaxing and preparing but none was as mundane as the unexpectedly normal person who went under the pseudonym 'Silver'; the mask wearing duelist.

Amongs the countless people in the mall he stood, blending in quite normally. He walked peculiarly with light steps, keeping one arm around his stomach while with the other held some nylon bags in his hand. With headphones hanging around his neck he walked through the Neo Domino mall.

Oblivious to the numerous outlandish theories of his real identity, Silver lived his life normally. He made his way into a Duel Monsters card shop, glancing through the cases as he strode around. He walked over to the counter after a while, uttering a greeting to the woman behind the counter.

"… how are you?" She smiled. "Still young looking I see." This elicited a chuckle from the unmasked young man. "I haven't seen you in a while, what's been going on with you?"

"Nothing much. It's just that work's been a little hectic."

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed." She replied. "You seriously look like you haven't aged a day, are you sure you don't use any special lotions or anything?"

"No matter how many times you ask, Mira, it'll still be the same answer: I don't." He laughed sheepishly, he got that a lot. Mira was in her early twenties, a bit older than him, and she was quite beautiful despite what her demure character connoted, he really looked up to her, she was like the big-sister he didn't have.

She and Silver had grown quite close over time, when he first arrived in Neo Domino city she had helped him settle in, it was quite scary not knowing anybody in the imposing city, he felt quite lucky to have met lived in the same apartment building so it was quite rare for one not to see the other.

"So what will you be buying?"

"Oh just these …" Silver said, mentioning the names of some cards, pointing to some. She didn't know that he was Silver, he kept that secret well guarded, all she knew was that he dueled professionally.

"See you around then." He said, waving, leaving the shop as shop as she waved in return. 'The semi finals, huh … how time flies …'

* * *

And time did fly. Once again he was in his signature mask, face to face with the former signer famed for his ferocious Blackwings.

Around the stadium the MC bellowed words with enthusiasm that was matched by the crowd's cheering. "… now ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it's time to …"

"Duel!"

Silver: 4000 Crow: 4000

As a result of winning the coin, Crow decided to take the second turn, leaving Silver to begin the duel. "My turn." The masked duelist gazed at his hand of five. "I set a monster and end my turn."

A horizontally oriented reversed card appeared, and as soon as it did Crow drew his card.

"Alright, I guess it's up to me to strike first. " Crow smirked, placing a card onto his duel disk. "I summon Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame."

A winged beast appeared before the ginger haired man, it flapped its wings in a proud fashion, holding its bony arms in a battle ready position. The feathers on its body were of different shades of a dark blue colour its hands possesed. (4/1800/1500)

"Shura will attack your reversed monster."

The winged beast flew towards its prey which was revealed to be a rather unassuming chick, a quick strike with its sharp claws disposed of it.

"Shura's effect activates, when he destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the graveyard I can special-summon a Blackwing monster from my deck with 1500 Attack Points or less." Crow explained as his obtained his chosen card. "I choose Gale the Whirlwind."

A smaller winged beast appeared beside Shura, this one had an odd characteristic of having green feathers around its head while the rest of his body was covered by violet feathers. (3/1300/400)

Before Crow could order an other attack, Silver revealed an effect of his own. "The monster you destroyed was Cheepcheepcheep, it's flip effect activates, it allows me to special-summon a level five or higher tuner monster from my deck. I'll summon Genomix Fighter."

A new creature appeared between Silver and Crow's monsters. While it was humanoid, the creature possessed some odd features in the form of two antennae, a mane, and what seemed to be miniature wings. It seemed more bestial than man though, and the claws that protruded from its fingers showed this, it also wore an advanced looking armor. (6/2200/1100)

Crow thought for a bit as he saw the monster, it was a Tuner Monster, a level six at that, Silver was probably aiming to Synchro summon a high level monster. He decided quickly, "I activate Gale the Whirlwind's effect which halves Genomix Fighter's Attack Points."

A powerful gust of wind, surprisingly emanating from the small Blackwing monster, struck Genomix Fighter, weakening it. (6/1100/550)

"Next I tune Gale to Shura the Blue Flame…" Crow began. The smaller winged beast transformed into three green rings which, while suspended in the air, Shura flew into. The blue feathered beast consequently turned into four stars and a blinding beam of light shot through the green rings.

"Synchro Summon! Blackwing Armor Master!

Garbed in unbreakable armor, one of the most humanoid Blackwings appeared. His wings flapped slowly as he suspended himself above the ground, casting an intimidating gaze towards his opponent. (7/2500/1500)

"Amazing!" The MC bellowed. "Crow's signature monster appearing so early in the duel doesn't bode well for his masked adversary, how will Silver react?"

Crow focused on his opponent, his body language didn't give away anything, no reaction whatsoever. 'Stupid mask.' He thought. "I set a card and end my turn." A reversed card appeared in his Spell/Trap card zone.

"My turn." Silver began. "I summon Marmitting Captain."

A very recognizable blond haired army captain appeared, but over the armor he was known to wear was an apron, and so he stood, spatula in hand. (3/1200/400)

"I choose not to use his effect, instead I'll tune Genomix Fighter to him." The beastly creature turned into six rings which encircled Marmitting Captain, reducing the warrior into three stars.

"Oooh, Silver aims for his signature Synchro Monster!"

"Synchro Summon, Giganticastle."

Out of the explosion of light a large creature appeared. Despite the fact that only the creature's upper body was visible Armor Master was still dwarfed by it. Made entirely of rock, the large golem looked more like a rock construct than a living thing. (9/2900 - 3100/2800)

"Upon its Synchro Summon, Giganti castle gains 200 Attack Points for each non-tuner monster used in its Synchro Summon." Silver explained the power boost.

Giganti castle was in defense position, a good decision, but not enough, Crow concluded. It's Defense points were higher than Armor Master's Attack Points but Armor Master's effect could affect Defense points also, perhaps he didn't know that…

"I set two cards face-down and end my turn." Silver said, two reversed cards appearing in his Spell/Trap zones.

"Silver chooses to defend, but against a deck as ruthless as Crow's will this turn out to be a grave mistake?!" The MC bellowed.

* * *

Aki stood just outside the instituation that had become fondly referred to as Yusei's lab. Despite Crow's insistence, she hadn't been able to speak to Yusei when she had returned his keys, she had since thought it over and had decided Crow was right, she had to muster the courage and talk to Yusei, taking a deep breath she proceeded to enter the place, pushing the doors in an elaborate fashion.

Yusei turned sharply.

There was nobody there … he didn't hear them again, the only audible sound was the indistinct chatter of the other scientists in the building. 'They talk rather loudly …'

He returned his focus to the work at hand, there wasn't a lot of documents and ideas under Armin's name, but Yusei had found something to focus on, oddly enough it wasn't a paper or thesis of Armin's, but rather a idea Yusei had come to entertain after a while. During one of their rare conversations, Armin had joked about something along that line, Yusei didn't think it was quite possible, but thinking back, it was obvious that it was, after all he did experience something very close to-

His head whipped backwards, gazing at the empty corridor through the open door … hadn't he closed it?

His footsteps echoed in an irritating fashion as he walked to the door, he stopped pushing the door as it was just a few centimeters away from being shut. Were his eyes decieving him? Was this another delusion resulting from his paranoia? Or, did he actually see something?

Against rational thought, Yusei left his office, following his -at this point- highly unreliable instincts. The corridor was empty and every step he rook reverberated within the empty space, unsettling it was, but not enough to deter the curious scientist. After what seemed like an eternity Yusei arrived to the end of the corridor, arriving at the bend that should lead to …

To say Yusei was shocked was an understatement. 'What … the … hell?'


	8. Chapter 8

Something Famished

"My turn." Crow began, adding one more card to his hand.

Silver: 4000 Crow: 4000

"I summon Blackwing - Bora the Spear!"

A spear wielding winged-beast appeared, it stood beside the more powerful Armor Master, cocking its feather covered head. (4/1700/800)

"Blackwing Armor Master, attack Giganticastle!" Crow ordered.

"I counter with Draining Shield!"

The armored winged-beast flew towards the much larger Giganticastle, but before his fist strike it it was stopped by an invisible barrier, after which Silver shone with a bright aura as his Life Points increased.

Silver: 4000 - 6500 Crow: 4000

"Draining Shield negates your attack and increases my Life Points by the Attack Points of your monster." Silver explained.

Crow smiled. "I end my turn."

"Silver manages to survive Crow's turn unscathed, how will his turn go now?!" The MC said, providing a not-so-needed summary of Crow's turn.

"My turn." Silver drew, making his hand consist of three cards. "I tribute Giganticastle to summon Great Maju Garzett."

Crow was somewhat suprised seeing his opponent get rid of his level nine Synchro monster so easily, now that he thought of it a level nine synchro summon wasn't so easy for most duelists to begin with. '… this guy …'

Giganticastle disappeared and the monster that appeared in its place, while not as large as the former, was much more imposing. It possesed odd blue skin, two horns protruded from the top of its head and tufts of hair from below its shoulder guards, it stood with its arms folded, its eyes staring and its alien-like mouth in an uncomprehendible state. (6/0 - 5800/0)

"Crap!" Crow cursed.

"Great Maju Garzett's attack points are equal to double the original Attack Points of the monster tributed to summon him, Giganticastle's original Attack Points were 2900 … hence the 5800." Silver explained. "Now, Great Maju Garzett will attack Bora the Spear."

"With his monster's overwhelming power Silver aims to take Crow out in one strike!"

"Not so fast pal," Crow pushed a button on his Duel Disk. "I activate Icarus Attack! By tributing Bora the Spear I can destroy your Maju Garzett and your face-down card." The spear wielding monster disappeared.

"I'll chain my face-down card." Silver stated, and like Crow's his reversed card flipped up, his was green rather than Crow's red. "I activate the Quickplay Spell Card: My Body As A Shield, by paying 1500 Life Points I can negate Icarus Attack and destroy it.

Silver: 6500 - 5000 Crow: 4000

The chain resolved, culminating in Crow's Trap Card's destruction and a loss of Bora the spear, despite this Crow didn't seem bothered. "Now that Bora, the original attack target, is gone a replay is triggered, you can either attack Armor Master or not." He smirked.

"I'll attack Armor Master." Silver replied. "Then I activate Forbidden Chalice, your monster's effect is negated and in return it gets a 400 Attack Points boost."

Crow's smile vanished at that point, a frown replacing it as Armor Master gained power. (7/2500 - 2900/1500)

The more-than-capable fiend lunged at the flying warrior, with suprising power he jumped, easily reaching Armor Master and delivering a powerful punch right to its face.

* * *

"… snow?" Yusei turned around instinctively, half expecting the sight before him. The corridor was gone, he didn't seem to be in the building or Neo domino anymore.

It was a vast expanse of thick snow covered land. The sky was overcast, not a ray of sunlight permeated the dense clouds above, and as far as he could see there wasn't a single object. He decided to explore, there wasn't anything he could do besides that.

'It's just like that time in the stadium …' he mused, cluching his sides. As though his nerves had been numb a second ago, a sudden cold feeling enveloped him. Walking was made difficult by the snow, and as his feet were touching the ground the snow was halfway to his knees, his breathing was laboured as a result.

Back at Yusei's place of work Aki had gotten directed to his office and had begun making her way there, as she walked through the corridors she found herself wishing she wore thicker clothing, the building felt rather cold.

* * *

Crow could only watch, mouth agape as his Armor Master shattered upon coming in contact with the ground.

Silver: 5000 Crow: 4000 - 1100

"Amazing! Silver has turned the table around with his behemoth of a monster!" The MC bellowed. "Almost a 4000 Life Points difference exists between our two competitors now, how will Crow react!"

"I set a card face-down and end my turn." Silver stated. Crow grit his teeth in annoyance as the reversed card appeared.

"My turn, draw." Crow took a deep breath, managing a smile afterwards. "I'll have to admit, you got me, I didn't expect such a brutal respond."

"Thank you?" Silver said, uncertain as to why his opponent was praising him.

"Don't expect me to back down though, I'll match your backlash with a bit of mine." Crow said. Against a monster with 5800 Attack Points, he had to admit, mounting a comeback was difficult. His deck was more focused on quickly pumping out monsters with decent strength than it was on powering them up to monstrous levels.

With Sirocco he could achieve such a feat, but his current hand didn't allow for that, he only had one plan with which he could get rid of Great Maju Garzett. "I activate Black Whirlwind!"

Crow's signature Continuous Spell Card appeared, Silver frowning as he saw it.

"I summon Blackwing - Calima the Haze."

A peculiar looking bird appeared, it was shrouded in some kind of mist but its pink feathered body was still visible. (4/600/1800)

"Using Black Whirlwind's effect, I can add a Blackwing monster with less Attack Points than Calima's to my hand." Crow added his chosen card to his hand. "I choose the tuner monster: Oroshi the Squall, and since I control a different Blackwing monster, his effect allows me to special-summon him."

More a traditional bird than the rest, the new Blackwing monster appeared flying beside Calima, its blue eyed staring at the opposing creature. Most of its feathers were black, its beak was a light-brown colour as was its feet. (1/400/600)

"Now I tune Oroshi the Squall to Calima."

Oroshi transformed into a single green ring Camila flew into. The pink feathered bird turned into four stars.

"Synchro summon! Blackwing - Gram the Shining Star!"

Silver armour gleamed as the Synchro monster emerged from the light. Like Armor Master, Gram was humanoid in build but his armour allowed his avian traits more visibility. Brandishing a silver katana with inscriptions in gold, two large wings protruded from Gram's back, keeping him airborne with the aid of four smaller wings, one protruding from on each arm and ankle. (5/2200/1500)

"Both Jin and Gram's effects activate," Crow continued. "Jin, when sent to the graveyard for a Synchro Summon allows me to switch the battle position of a monster on the field."

Predictably Great Maju Garzett took a defensive stance, the ever inscrutable Silver not moving at all as this occured.

"Gram's effect allows me to special-summon a non-tuner Blackwing monster from my hand." Crow paused for a while. "I'll summon Fane the Steel Chain."

A humanoid Blackwing monster garbed in clothes that wouldn't feel out of place in feudal Japan appeared, it was much smaller compared to the Synchro monster. (2/500/800)

"Fane the Steel Chain, attack Great Maju Garzett!"

The immense power the fiend held mattered little as the smaller winged-beast lunged at him, against its nonexistent Defense Points, Fane the Steel Chain couldn't have an easier battle, he shattered instantly as the Blackwing struck him.

"Gram will attack you directly!"

The armoured winged-beast slashed Silver swiftly, seemingly aiming to split the masked duelist into two symmetrical halves.

"I activate Defense Draw." Silver said, his lone reversed card flipping up. "This reduces the damage to zero and allows me to draw one card."

"I end my turn with a face-down card." Crow stated, a reversed card appearing before him.

"Crow has regained control of this duel, managing to get rid of Silver's behemoth!" The MC bellowed. "Great Maju Garzett has proven to be a formidable monster, also causing problems for Silver's previous opponents."

"My turn, draw." Silver said.

'He has two cards in his hand, he doesn't have so many options.' Crow thought.

"I set a monster and end my turn." Silver said after a while.

Crow's eyes lit up. 'This is my chance!'

* * *

Yusei was tired and exhausted, he was sure he would be sweating profusely had it not been for the extremely cold weather. He had been walking foward for more than thirty minutes now, he was sure of the time because he had sung an entire album, an entire album! And not one shred of change had he seen in the landscape, only the same expanse of snow.

He looked up slowly, still no rays of light penetrated the clouds, things were looking bleak. He had no idea how he got there, all he did was turn at the end of the corridor. So far, there was no magical gate to take him back, no villain to laugh in his face and claim superiority, no otherwordly being to welcome him, no reason whatsoever for his being there.

The cold was starting to get to him, he was sure if he stayed there any longer he could die. His mind went back to the thing that happened in the stadium, unlike that experience which only elicited emotional response, he seemed to actually be in another world, his nervous system actually worked and he could touch the snow in which he walked.

Yusei felt a cold feeling on his nose. 'Snow, perhaps.' The truth was far worse, however, and Yusei found himself shouting for help as sleet began falling. "Help!"

* * *

"Yusei?" Aki muttered.

Forty-five minutes she had spent waiting for the scientist to return from wherever he went, and she was frustrated. Irritated and annoyed she decided to go find him herself. She left a note informing him she was in the building and telling him to call her in the case that while she was gone he actually returned.

Unbeknowst to her, she began treading the same path Yusei formerly followed. As she arrived at the end of the corridor she turned … and met herself with yet another corridor. Sighing, she continued her searching, making sure not to disturb the other scientists who would obviously be doing research of their own.

* * *

"I summon Blackwing Zephyros the Elite!"

Like its name suggested, what was perhaps the most battle ready of the non-synchro Blackwing monsters appeared. Sporting golden gaunlets and boots on its hands and feet the new winged-beast was garbed in suitable battle garment. The feathers on its head were blue in colour while its wing feathers were black and blue at the ends. (4/1600/1000)

"Black Whirlwind effect activates, I'll use its effect to add Breeze the Zephyr to my hand." Crow began. "I'll use Breeze's effect, which allows me to special-summon him when he's added to my hand by a card effect."

A winged-beast with amber coloured feathers appeared, unlike the rest of Blackwings on the field its build wasn't humanoid, it looked more like a normal bird. (3/1100/300)

"Now I'll tune Breeze to Zephyros the Elite."

Breeze transformed into three green rings, Zephyros flew into the center of the rings and transformed into four stars right before a beam of light shot through the rings.

"Synchro summon! Blackwing Armor Master!"

Crow smirked as the armoured Blackwing appeared, its eyes gleaming dangerously. (7/2500/1500)

"Didn't think I only had one copy did you?" Crow taunted. "I activate Zephyros the Elite's effect, once per duel, by returning a face-up card I control to my hand, I can special summon him from the graveyard."

Crow's Continuous Spell Card returned to his hand and the gaunlet wearing Blackwing reappeared. (4/1600/1000)

Silver: 5000 Crow: 1100 - 700

"I lose 400 Life Points after using Zephyros' effect, but that doesn't matter now, next I'll activate Black Whirlwind." Crow said as the holographic renderation of the Continuous Spell Card reappeared.

"Crow has increased the Life Points Gap to 4300, but now he has an army of monsters with sufficient power to end the duel now!" The MC said. "But does Silver have a trick up his sleeve?!"

"Zephyros the Elite, attack his reversed monster!"

Crow groaned loudly as the reversed monster was revealed to be a certain yellow chick he had seen before.

"Cheepcheepcheep's effect activates," Silver said as the chick was destroyed. "I can now special-summon a level five or higher tuner monster from my deck, I'll choose Genomox Fighter."

A beastly humanoid garbed in advanced armor appeared, its antennae perking up as though percieving something. (6/2200/1100)

"Armor Master, attack!"

Armored fist smashed into the psychic type monsters gut, destroying it, it fufilled its role was however, as its master would survive to see another turn.

Silver: 5000 - 4700 Crow: 700

"Gram the Shining Star will attack you directly!" Crow declared and the Blackwing obliged, finally able to damage the ever evasive masked duelist.

Silver: 4700 - 2500 Crow: 700

"I switch Fane the Steel Chain to defense position, that ends my turn." Crow stated, the winged-beast in feudal era clothes taking a defense stance.

"My turn." Silver said, drawing a card.

"Silver's on the ropes now, against Crow's current line-up of Blackwings, things are not looking so bright for him."

"I activate Pot of Dichotomy." A bizarre looking jar appeared before the masked duelist as the Spell Card was played. "This card allows me to shuffle three monsters of different types into my deck, then draw two cards. I'll shuffle the Psychic-type Genomix Fighter, Warrior-type Marmitting Captain and Winged-beast-type Cheepcheepcheep."

Silver shuffled the aforementioned cards into his deck, drawing two cards, making for a total of three cards in his hand. "You realize you can use the destiny draw, right?"

Crow was rather surprised at the question, he had almost forgotten about it, but that was besides the point, why would Silver remind him? "Yes, why do you ask?"

"No reason." Silver answered dismissively. "I end my turn."

"Silver ends his turn with his field bare, could this be him accepting defeat?!" The MC bellowed in disbelief.

Crow narrowed his eyes, the common reason for a bare field would be because one wanted to use Gorz the Emissary of Darkness, but since Armor Master could end the duel with a single attack that didn't seem like a feasible plan. Stalling was another reason though, but the question concerning the destiny draw nagged at Crow.

"My turn, draw." He decided against the destiny draw. "Blackwing Armor Master, attack him directly!"

It seemed as though the attack would go through, Armor Master got dangerously close to Silver but the appearance of a small pendulum shaped fiend stopped it. (1/0/0)

"I activate Battle Fader's effect, when you declare a direct attack, I can special-summon it and end the battle phase afterwards." Silver stated.

Crow grit his teeth in annoyance, Jack used that card too. Realizing he couldn't end the duel that turn, Crow paused to think, looking down at his reversed card. 'Fake feather, I could copy Draining Shield with it … but just to be safe …'

"I switch Zephyros to defense position and set a card face-down, turn end!" A reversed card appeared as the gauntlet wearing Blackwing knelt defensively.

"My turn, draw." Silver added a card to his hand. "I summon Masked Chameleon."

A bizarre looking chameleon appeared next to the small fiend, its long red tongue stuck out of its mouth, swishing about as its blue eyes scanned the area. (4/1600/1100)

'A tuner monster.' Crow noted.

"Masked Chameleon's effect activates, upon normal summoning him I can special-summon in defense position a monster from my graveyard which possesses 0 Defense Points." Silver continued. "I only have one, Great Maju Garzett."

The fiend which once terrorized Crow reappeared, though now it possessed no power whatsoever. (6/0/0)

"I tune Masked Chameleon to Great Maju Garzett and Battle Fader."

"Level 11?!" Crow blurted.

Masked Chameleon transformed into four green rings which both fiends flew into, a beam of light shot through the center of the rings.

"Synchro summon, Star Eater!"

Large red wings flapped as the light dissipated, revealing a large red dragon easily as big as Giganticastle was. The dragon let out a loud roar as its serpentine body slithered around. (11/3200/2800)

"Ooh! Silver has brought out a synchro monster he has yet to use! Boasting 3200 Attack Points, could it spell Crow's doom?!" The MC screamed.

Crow found himself surprised again at the sight of another of Silver's synchro monsters, his deck was turning out to be peculiar.

"Star Eater, attack Gram and end this duel!" Silver said, his voice, for once, not being its usual dreary tone.

"I activate Black Sonic!" Crow countered, his reversed card flipping up. "I can activate this when you attack a Blackwing monster I control, it banishes all attack position monsters you control." However, Crow frowned as the red dragon let loose a blast of fire from its maw, unpertubed by the Trap Card.

Silver explained. "When Star Eater attacks, it's unaffected by other cards effect until the end of the damage step."

Crow recoiled at this revelation. "You got me …" he sighed.

The flame washed over the silver armored Blackwing, incinerating it along with the rest of Crow's Life Points.

Silver: 2500 Crow: 700 - 0

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the winner of this duel, and the finalist is the masked marauder, Silver!"

"You got me." Crow repeated.

"Good game." Silver stated.

Jack huffed, he had seen enough. Silver's deck didn't follow any glaring themes in terms of monsters, the focus was on high level synchro summoning in the 8 to 11, maybe 12, levels. Jack had to admit it was smart of him to conceal Star Eater, but Jack had seen that so it had lost its edge, and unlike Crow, Jack had raw power to match Silver's so there was no deck advantage present.

While Jack prepared himself for a final match he was yet to qualify for, Jun got ready for her big match. 'Finally…'

* * *

Yusei's eyes opened slowly, everything looked blurry, where was he? He winced in pain as he attempted to sit up, only to have someone push him down gently.

"Yusei, relax."

There were two people looking down at him, one had brown hair, the other's was red, Aki perhaps? "W-what … happened?" He weakly said.

"You fell." Aki - he assumed - replied.

"I-I … fell?" He repeated slowly. His head was throbbing painfully, he couldn't remember anything. How he got here, how he fell, where he fell, were all lost on him.

"Mr Fudo, you need to rest." A male voice said. Not having the energy to oppose, Yusei complied, yawning drowsily.

"Doctor, will he be okay?" Aki asked, visibly worried.

"Apart from the concussion he should be fine." The brown haired man in the white cost replied. "No need to get too worked up."

"Are you sure?"

"We'll run some tests on him, but I think its safe to relax now, he's okay." The doctor affirmed.

Being a medical student herself Aki knew that much, but frantic as she was, she couldn't trust any of her inferences, all she knew was that she found Yusei lying at the bottom of the staircase, unconscious. She had alerted the others in the building and Yusei had been taken to the hospital, thankfully he was okay.

She looked down at him, even while he slept he still had the same stoic expression he was known for, as if it would kill him to smile once in a while. She left the room to give him time to rest, she would visit him later.

"Aki!"

"Crow?!" A shocked Aki asked. "Don't you have a match right now?"

"Nah, it's over, I heard that Yusei got sent to the hospital, what happened?"

"I'm not sure exactly, but he seems to have fallen down some stairs."

"Is he okay?"

"Yes." She replied. "The doctor said he was only concussed, he's sleeping right now."

Sighing in relief, Crow began walking out the hospital with Aki. "How did the duel against Silver go?" Aki asked.

"Good, I lost."

"What? Really?" Aki blurted out rather loudly, luckily they were already out the hospital.

"Yeah, he pulled one heck of a powerful red dragon out of his hat." Crow smiled.

"Wow." Aki voiced her disbelief, she had always expected Crow and Jack to meet up in the final. "So Jack is dueling right now, aren't you going to watch?"

"I will, just wanted to make sure Yusei was alright first." Crow replied. "I don't think Jack even needs us to cheer him on, he's been on his A-game recently. Besides one upset victory is enough for today, a second would just be absurd."


	9. Chapter 9

A Frustum Off the Cone

While a battle raged on in the Kaiba Dome, Hatake, who was in the police force's headquarters almost at the other side of the city, mulled over the case.

Suicide, that's what the police told the press. Their little duel tournament had gathered quite the international audience and a panic would no doubt ensue if the details of the case were leaked out, hence the secrecy. But something gnawed at Hatake's conscience, something was up, his gut told him, there was something terribly wrong and what annoyed him the most was not knowing exactly what that was. The city was not ok … the city was not okay.

The case so far had been lukewarm, they were still at a loss concerning a plausible cause of death, and a culprit had not been found, an incentive for the suicide cover up story, he assumed. Some progress had been made though, the body had been identify to be that of Hiroto Eiji, a factory worker from, get this, Tokyo. He had been declared missing about four days ago and had not been seen for a week.

An examination of the body had proved fruitless despite the discovery of a peculiar organism. This organism, found within the corpse's insides was an astonishing find, nobody knew a thing about it, something like it had never been seen before. It was neither bacteria nor virus as they had expected to find, it could be seen by the human eye, whether it was harmful was still up for debate and as such is was kept isolated. Its biological make up was as bizarre as its appearance, inside the transparent container it was stored in, it looked no different from a mud stain, an odd mud stain with locomotor functions. Like a snail, it proved able to move on the ceiling of the container, sticking to it as though possessing some adhesive quality.

In some days, a group of foreign researchers would be here to take a look at it, he didn't like the situation, he was sure the Neo Domino executives didn't too, the case was going to escalate at that rate. He had seen the mayor before, an oddly dressed short man who went by the name Jeager. Jeager had personally checked on the team's progress and talked to each of them in the process, he was rather nice and carefree for a person of his position.

Besides the obvious reason, he seemed to have something else to make him worried. It wasn't so obvious, but he would become rather apprehensive when somethings were said, at least according to Lisa, an aide of Hatake's.

The leading hypothesis of Eiji's death was such: He had gotten frostbitten, abducted, his blood had been pumped out of his system completely (there had been no colouration that could be attributed to the accumulation of blood at a point in a body after death and there was also the obvious lack of a fatal wound) and he had been frozen after. The problem facing that hypothesis were staggering, it hadn't begun to snow in Japan so how would he have gotten frostbite? He was just another regular drudge so what would be the incentive to abduct him? If it was a serial killer they still wouldn't have any reason to abduct him, his life was as uninteresting as one could possibly get, then again most serial killer weren't picky about their victims. And all this was disregarding the impossible state of the body, there existed no means he knew that could cause a living organism to stay in such a state, the examination had revealed that.

The organs were in a state inconsistent with what was expected a week after death. Suppose he was actually frozen after his blood was pumped out, the rate of decay would be reduced, enough so that his organs wouldn't be as they were within the space of a week … then again who knows what organism had been doing to his insides? But if Eiji's body was really frozen, how would the organism survive and go about its activities?

Lisa had suggested something, she wondered if the body had been allowed to decay for a while then frozen later, almost immediately before it was found, it was an interesting view but it was just as plausible as the former. Putrefaction would have occured if the body was allowed to decay, and the corpse had certainly not been allowed to putrify by the way it looked.

The serial killer theory had been abandoned, mostly. Hatake had spoke with a detective from the force who had informed him that no one had been spotted approaching the building in the surveillance tapes and that despite how it appeared, the building was quite secure and the kids had gone in using authorized access codes, they were friends of Yusei Fudo who had a large part in the project, he said.

Hatake sighed, there were too many impossible things going on, it wasn't right … it wasn't natural.

Something was wrong.

* * *

Jack: 2100 Jun: 1300

The life points counter shone dimly in the background, seemingly insignificant compared to the tense stare off that currently ensued between the two duelists.

Behind Jack Atlas, large red wings flapped soundlessy as Red Daemon's Dragon nostrils flared, its tailed swished around behind it, almost impatiently, as it gave a venomous stare at the opponent. (8/3300/2000)

Before Jun, a large blue shark was suspended, it was imposing due to its size, its looks, and most importantly its power. Golden plates surrounded the area around its mouth, its large sharp teeth glistened dangerously, and its numerous fins stood out, appearing just as sharp as its teeth. (3/4800/2000 - 0 OU)

Beside Shark Caesar was a smaller serpentine dragon with blue skin and a green underbelly. (3/1800/1600 - 1 OU)

Two reversed cards lay before Jack while Jun had one card in her backrow, in the king's hand were three cards, Jun had none. Jack spoke first, deciding to break the ice.

"If you have something against me just say it."

Jun's frown deepened first, then it contorted into a cruel looking smirk. "I will … I will … expose you for the utter piece of shit you are!"

Jack said nothing, his anger was clearly written on his face.

Jun violently drew a card from her deck. "Shark Caesar! Destroy that dragon!"

"I activate Fiendish Chain!" Jack countered as his reversed card flipped up. "This card a-"

"I activate Trap Jammer!" Jun bellowed. "This negates your pitiful excuse for a save!"

Jack grit his teeth in annoyance as her Trap Card destroyed his, reducing him to watching her shark clamp its mouth around Red Daemon's Dragon side, destroying the dragon and letting out a loud shriek afterward.

Jack: 2100 - 600 Jun: 1300

"Before I end this duel, I'll tell you why I despise you so much." Jun said, still frowning. "It happened seven years ago, the ground zero tournament in Tokyo …"

A myriad of memories played back simultaneously in Jack's mind and the sound of an explosion reverberated through his skull, his free hand found its way to his abdomen, his torso suddenly began throbbing with pain as the rate of his breathing and heart beat increased.

"Do the names Masako Toru and Chiyo ring any bells?" She asked, Jack didn't move a muscle. "I thought so, they were both just another nameless, faceless body in the crowd that day, so why should you even bother knowing who exactly you killed then, huh?"

Her words struck Jack like bricks, the blond haired man was no longer frowning, how could he, when everything she said was true.

Seven years ago, after the members of team 5D's had gone their separate ways, Jack Atlas had gotten an invitation to a duel tournament: the ground zero duel tournament. It was the first international tournament the Neo domino city king would participate in, and his performance in it would play a major role in determining how far he could get in the international duel scene.

It was a large tournament of 32 participants. Two rounds in and Jack was still sailing smoothly, intent on making a name for himself in the dueling world. Things however took a horrible turn during his semi-final match, where it happened. The next two to three years proved tumultous thanks to that one mishap, that one mistake, that one miscalculation … that one act of stupidity.

There wasn't anyone Jack had met that could perform as many tricks on a D-Wheel and showboat as much as he could, and at that time he was intent on building a reputation centered on that. During the semi-final duel, the accident occured, he wasn't sure how or why it had happened, whether it was a manouvering mishap or a malfunction of the D-Wheel, he didn't know, but in an attempt to perform his then signature move of skidding backwards on his D-Wheel he had somehow drived off the edge instead, crashing into section of the stands, he had been thrown off his D-Wheel at the last moment, that proved lucky for him as the D-Wheel exploded soon after … some of the spectators weren't as fortunate.

The accident had seen Jack go through a number of surgeries that left him in a fragile state for a while, depleting both his strength and his finances, and by the time he recovered he realized his reputation had taken a pretty big hit, he had to build himself back up from almost nothing.

Jun continued: "I tried to tell myself that things were okay, that somehow they would fix themselves, but became apparent that wasn't the case." She clenched her fist in anger. "I promised myself that I would find a way to tell you your sins to your very face and expose you for what you really are. So what are you going to do, what will you say?"

Jack stood speechless, distraught and unable to say a word.

"… that's it, huh?" Jun said, frowning, she let out a short mirthless chuckle. "You're no hero … none of you are. Leviair the Sea Dragon, end this duel."

* * *

Yusei woke up with intense pain in his head, and try as he may, he couldn't get himself to sit up so he decided to lay there instead.

He had dream, he wasn't sure if it was good or bad, it seemed to be a collage of old memories, as in Satellite time old. A pang of guilt shot through him, he hadn't seen Rally and the others in a very long time, they had really drifted apart after he went through that tunnel that fateful night in Satellite. He wondered how they were doing, if they were still in Satellite, of they missed him … he really couldn't say they did, he hadn't even made an attempt to even visit in more than a year, God, he was a horrible friend.

A face popped into his head as that last thought echoed in his mind. It was a woman, she had worked in the laboratory about five years ago, she quit after a rather tempestuous disagreement and soon after nobody could find her, she presumably left the country. She had been his partner on a project some time prior to her leaving the lab and after she left he didn't even bother to reach out to her. Yusei knew that for all his talk about bonds, he sure treated people like shit. Maybe this accident will give him the time to resolve whatever it was that made him so closed off.

He groaned as the pain in his head suddenly spiked. He brought his hands to his forehead, the action caused more pain than comfort, and Yusei found his groaning turn into slow crooning, and what a morbid sounding tune it was. He opened his eyes and saw his hands were bandaged, what had happened to him, really?

Aki said he fell … fell down some stairs, that must have been a helluva staircase because his body ached terribly, he was sure he would stay bed ridden for a while, and while the idea of lying down all day disgusted him, he knew he had too do so, he would never be able to work until he was better. It bugged him that he couldn't remember most of the day though, he wondered if he was concussed, if so, what else did he lose? Hopefully nothing important.

He would really hate to forget anything important.

* * *

Jack: 600 Jun: 1300

Jun scoffed in disgust. "I'm not even surprised."

A small pendulum shaped fiend was suspended before Jack, somehow it managed to keep Leviair at bay. (1/0/0)

"I end my turn." Jun said.

The crowd cheered at the events of the turn, despite the words that had just been said. They had turned off the mics during that exchange, Jun realized, play the spectators for fools, of course, she should have expected that. Her frown deepened, if she couldn't expose Jack Atlas for what he truly was, she would make sure she broke him, completely.

Jack Atlas drew his card, his hand contained a total of three cards after that. "I set a monster and place a card face-down, turn end." He grit his teeth in annoyance. Two reversed cards appeared, one a monster card and the other sat in his Spell/Trap Card zone.

"I draw." Jun said. "I activate Leviair's effect: by using its last overlay unit, I can special summon a banished level 4 or lower monster, I'll summon Rescue Rabbit."

A small rabbit with white fur appeared wearing a helmet and what seemed to be goggles, a communicator hanging from its neck. (4/300/100)

"I activate Rescue Rabbit's effect, banishing it to special-summon two level 4 or lower normal monsters from my deck with the same name." Jun continued. "I'll summon Bio-Mage."

Two identical humanoid being appeared, their body seemed to be made entirely of metal with the exception of the face which looked quite fleshy. Their body shape connoted similarities to a likeness of some diety. (3/1150/1000) × 2

"I overlay both Bio-Mage." Jun said. "With these two monsters I create the overlay network." Both monsters transformed into bright yellow orbs as a red portal appeared before them, the orbs flew into them and an explosion of light occured. "Xyz summon! Wind-Up Zenmaines."

A large machine appeared next to the dragon, though it looked more like a toy than an actual robot, it's claw-like hands looked deadly enough. (3/1500/2100 - 2 OU)

"Zemmaines, destroy Battle Fader!"

The machine struck the smaller fiend, destroying it easily.

"Leviair, destroy that reversed monster!"

The blue skinned dragon let loose a torrent of flames from its maw, the flames washed over the reversed Monster Card, scorching it but not destroying the monster. Jun's tongue clicked in annoyance as the monster was revealed.

It was a small fiend in a shape reminescent of a kuriboh, it wore a small gray helmet on its head and a set of gold plates hung from its back. In its hand was a tuning fork and a rod. (3/1300/300)

"Dark Resonator's effect shields it from destruction once per turn." Jack said.

"Shark Caesar, attack!"

Just as the shark's mouth was about to close with the small fiend inside it, Jack spoke up. "I counter with Barrier Resonator's effect, by discarding its card, Barrier Resonator prevents Dark Resonator from being destroyed by battle this turn."

A luminous barrier repelled the great shark, sending it back to Jun's field where it growled unsatisfactorily.

"I set a card and end my turn." Jun stated, a lone card now resting in her Spell/Trap Card zone.

"My … turn." Jack said, staring at the ground before him, looking as though some interesting thing lay on the cold grey metal. He steeled himself and looked up to Jun, on meeting her gaze he flinched and stepped back unconsciously, but he kept his eyes on hers. "I've done a lot of shit in my life, I've betrayed friends, abandoned people, lost some, and …" he gulped. "Caused the demise of some, all for my selfish ambition …"

Jun's venomous stare didn't reduce in intensity, and neither did Jack's. He had nicked his heart with a dagger that day in Satellite when he betrayed Yusei and over time he had the dagger slowly inch its way through his heart, now he could push it all the way through or pull it out and bleed. "… and I'll be damned if I don't get to where I want to after everything I've done!"

Jun lost it. She let out a loud shriek as her face contorted into an ugly expression of rage, her purple hair sticking out wildly. "You bastard! I'll ki-"

Jack made his move "I summon Barrier Resonator."

A small Fiend-Type monster appeared next to Dark Resonator. It looked strikingly similar to Dark Resonator, but unlike it, Barrier Resonator had traded the tattered cloak for a proper one, and instead of the gold plates a contraption that seemed to store electricity was hung from its back. (1/300/800)

"Now I activate Call of the Haunted!" Jack bellowed and one of his reversed cards flipped up. "Return to me! Red Daemon's Dragon!"

Red wings flapped loudly as the red skinned dragon that had come to be Jack Atlas' pride appeared in a burst of flames. (8/3000/2000)

"Twelve, two tuners." Jun realized what Jack was aiming for, so did the crowd, judging by their increased cheer. Ignorant bufoons, she thought.

"I double tune Barrier and Dark Resonators to Red Daemon's Dragon!" Jack said. "Synchro summon! Red Nova Dragon!"

The crowd's cheer became deafening as Red Daemon Dragon flew through the rings, an explosion of light occured and as most of the light dissipated what appeared to be a large meteor began falling towards the dueling field. Before it touched the ground, the 'meteor', actually the curled body of a new, larger red dragon burst open, sending splinters of flaming rock in every direction. (12/3500/3000)

The usually stoic Silver found himself unnerved by Jun who didn't so much as blink as a large piece of rock, holographic of course, flew right through her head, right through her face. Of course he didn't know what was really going on between them, the sound team had convenietly muted the mics, like Jun suspected, during that little exchange.

"Red Nova Dragon's effect grants him 500 Attack Points for every tuner monster in my graveyard." Jack said. "There's the Dark Resonator and Barrier Resonator used in his Synchro summon, the Barrier Resonator I discarded during your last turn, the Flare resonator used to summon Red Daemon's Dragon and the Phantom King Hydride for Chaos King, that makes five tuners for 2500 Attack Points."

As Jack finished his explaination, the large red dragon with spikes all over its body let out a large roar. (12/3500 - 6000/3000)

"Red Nova Dragon, attack Leviair and end this duel!"

As the Red Nova Dragon brought its flaming fist down on the smaller dragon, Jun looked at her reversed card: Rising Energy, which would have meant defeat for him had he attacked Shark Caesar. "… cowardly bastard."

Jack: 600 Jun: 1300 - 0

"Jack Atlas wins!"

The MC's voice finally breached the barrier of rage that prevented Jun from hearing it. She saw Jack Atlas approach her, she saw the look on his face, it didn't matter what it was, whether it was of pain, sadness, remorse, sympathy or triumph, all she knew was she hated it and all she could see it as was the mockery it really was, because behind all the facade of heroism Jack Atlas was a terrible person, and there was no coming back from that for him, there was no repentance for him, not anymore.

The purple haired girl stormed away, her emotions, bubbling up like an arcane concoction in some witch's cauldron, were dark and murky and had not reduced in intensity, not in the least, if anything they only grew stronger. Jack Atlas would pay, she would make sure of that … even if she couldn't do it with her own hands, she would make sure of that.

"Watch out for the finals next week, when red dragon battles red dragon! Will the Star Eater consume the Red Nova or will the Red Nova prove too much for the Star Eater to handle? Find out in the finals holding here in the Kaiba Dome, next week!"


	10. Chapter 10

Preparations of Incontinence

'Would you kill for us?'

Her twin sister had playfully asked that once, she had never answered. Now she knew what her answer was, she w-

"Stop it."

Jun found herself crying as the speaker pulled her closer. "There's no need to go there, stop it." Yuka held her niece in a close embrance, she supposed it was long overdue.

"W-why?" Jun muttered between sobs. "Why a-are they protecting him? I don't understand."

"Neither do I." Yuka replied.

Tetsuya stood a few feet away, awkwardly watching the scene unfold. He and Yuka had been having a rather important conversation and they weren't done when Jun's duel ended, he had no choice but to wait, unless she said otherwise. Yuka mouthed some words as she looked at Tetsuya over Jun's shoulder. He got the message, and after mouthing a few words in reply, he left.

Jun didn't know how long she spent crying in her aunt's arms, but a considerable amount of time passed before the flow of tears stopped and she pulled herself away from the comfort of her hands. "I-I'm sorry, I ruined your suit." She apologized, sniffling, sounding like a child that had been crying over an injury that they caused themselves.

Yuka shrugged, unbothered by it. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm … fine." The purple haired girl replied, looking up to face her aunt. Yuka's brown eyes acted like a mirror and through them Jun saw how much of a sorry state she was really in, her eyes looked especially swollen and her lipstick was smeared around her lips, the way small children would play with and apply them. She laughed inwardly, she looked like one of those down on their luck characters who only existed to exude pity from the watcher, and it was all that Jack Atlas' fault.

"Just let it go." Yuka said.

Jun looked genuinely hurt as she heard her aunt's words, recoiling slightly as she did. "How can you say that? He killed my family, our family … your brother … and he isn't even sorry about it?"

Yuka sighed, the sort of the sigh that a teacher always gave when a student insisted on a wrong answer being right. "Since I left Neo Domino city I've been through a lot of stuff and that has changed how I look at things. He inadvertently-"

"Inadvertently." Jun repeated.

"-killed them, I know that, and while I am yet to forgive him for that, I don't wish to watch you waste your life by pursuing revenge."

"I'm not wasting my life!" Jun retorted, indignant.

"Your parents wouldn't want this for you."

"How would you know that? I don't remember ever seeing you come by for a visit while they were still alive!" Jun bit her lip, regreting her words. "I-I'm sorry … I didn't mean to-"

Yuka smiled knowingly, drawing the purple haired girl in for a hug, Jun gladly accepted it. "Say what, I have the perfect way to get your spirits up, you'll have to do me a favour or two though."

"Sure." Jun replied, though she really didn't think she needed to be, or could be, cheered up right now.

"I asked around for information for an apartment and I'm supposed to get it tomorrow, could you do me a favour and get it for me?"

"Okay."

"Thanks." Yuka beamed. "His name is Yasushi, he'll be waiting at the address there." She handed a paper with an address scribbled on it to Jun.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"He lives in the building, I thought I'd help you find a better place to stay for the time being, your current abode being what it is." Jun frowned, but Yuka continued to speak. "I met him when I was checking the place out and he gladly helped me get some info from the landlady."

"My house is fine." Jun said defensively, looking at the address, it wasn't so far from her house. "Tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, which brings me to my second favour," Yuka's already wide smile increased in length, somehow. "You could always invite him to a cup of coffee or something, that would be nice."

Jun almost laughed, almost."Are you setting me up or ordering me on a date?"

"It is whatever you take it as." Yuki replied. "But please, please do this, if you don't want to, for me at least, I think that you'll find it a worthwhile experience."

"Ugh, fine."

"Promise?"

Jun looked at her aunt in mild bewilderment. "Promise." She smiled. "Were you always this …"

"Weird … devious, yes." She gave a childish giggle. "Toru always said I was positively scheming."

"I agree." Jun said. "What's the point of me asking some random guy to coffee?"

"I just think you need someone to talk to right now, someone your age." Yuki replied, standing to take her leave.

"I doubt I'd tell my life history to a complete stranger, but I'm willing to indulge in whatever game you're playing. How will I know who he is?"

Yuki was already at the door by now. "Like you, he also has weird hair, you'll recognize him as soon as you get there. Who knows, you might just bond over a mutual love for outrageous hairstyles."

"Hawhaw, very funny." Jun said before Yuki left, that woman was very bizarre at times.

When her parents and only sibling died, Jun was only eleven years old, while old enough to feel their absence, she was what one would consider emotionally stunted and as such much time wasn't spent in grief. As she grew, she began to feel the effects of their absense and it weighed greatly on her, and instead of accepting the fact that they were gone she decided to seek out revenge.

Yuka likened her niece's situation to that of solider in a war whose leg get's grazed by a bullet. The soldier doesn't realize he's been injured and he goes on fighting, only after the wound has festered and the pain becomes magnified does he notice, and instead of going to the medic for treatment, he decides to go on a quest to kill the man who shot the bullet that grazed it. One would probably think the soldier was stupid and that Jun had a just reason, but their situations were more or less the same.

As Yuki walked, she went over a list in her head. One week, everything had to be ready by then, hopefully, her hunch would be right and all that will be left is her work to finish, she smiled. 'One week.'

* * *

Soft music emanated from the grand piano in the room, reverberating through the mostly empty room. It was calm, slow and smooth, and as Ruka's hands glided over the keys, the music began increasing in tempo with time.

She hummed slowly, eyes fixated on the sheet music in front of her as she continued to play. Her fingers stumbled however and the music stopped after one final discordant chord. She hissed in annoyance, grabbing the paper from its place and proceeded to make some changes with a pencil.

Behind her, someone gave a short applaud and Ruka turned around in a start. "Rebecca!" Ruka squealed. "You scared me." She brought her hand to her chest. "You know I'm quite the fragile person." She joked.

"Right." Rebecca smiled.

Ruka wasn't sure if she was fragile or not anymore. These last few years, she hadn't gotten bedridden or hospitalized and while she was glad about that, she was also nervous, she'd assumed she was all better now, after the signer business, but she was still scared of over-exerting herself, she mostly took things easy now.

"Wow, you're really good." Rebecca said, amazed.

"Thank you." Ruka muttered. Unlike her brother, she hadn't maintained her old hairstyle, she let her green hair grow, only trimming it from time to time, and it had become rather long, reaching her waist. She still retained most of her looks as a child, and somehow she still looked like she had a bit of baby fat, much to her dismay, but since most considered it cute she wasn't too upset about it, she didn't bother too much about her looks so it was neither a loss nor a win in her books. "How are you doing?"

"Fine. Oh, are you wondering about the whole incident at the rink?" Rebecca smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not losing my mind or anything. It was mildly tramautizing, but I think I've gotten most past most of it."

"Good to see you're doing well."

"Yeah. The police are calling it a suicide, huh." Rebecca said and Ruka nodded. "I don't think it is, it was too weird ro be one I mean the way the arm came off-" Rebecca stopped, noticing Ruka's expression, the green haired girl was pale, she seemed tense and her smile was noticeably strained. Rebecca changed the subject. "Where's Rua anyway?"

Though shaken for reasons only known to her, Ruka tried to compose herself, the result was a strained reply. "I-In his room … getting ready, I think. You're both going out, right."

"Yeah, after how the last date went I-" there it was again, the stiffening, Rebecca noticed. If this was how she reacted when the topic was mentioned, she hated to see what would have happened if Ruka had been at the scene. "We're going to see a movie, do you want to join us?"

"Thank you, but no." Ruka managed to say normally. "I wouldn't like being an obtrusive third wheel."

"C'mon, Ruka, let's hang out, we could even make it a double date. Do you have anyone in mind."

Ruka blushed. "I'm not really up to going anywhere today, so …"

Ruka hoped it would end there, but after seeing the green haired girl's reaction, Rebecca was determined to press on. Luckily Rua finally came out of his room, allowing Ruka a sigh of relief.

"Sorry for making you wait."

"Have fun you guys." Ruka said.

"Sure." Rua replied. "Are you sure you'll be okay staying alone?"

"Of course," Ruka laughed. "I'm not eight, Rua. Now go on." She shooed them out.

"Bye-bye." Rebecca waved before closing the door.

Ruka smiled, Rebecca was a nice person, she and Rua were a good couple.

Ruka made her way back to the grand piano and took her seat. The piano had been her mother's, it just stood there in the study, dusty and unused, until Ruka came along, for her, music was more of a hobby right now, but it could develop into something bigger. Most girls her age seemed preoccupied with relationships and stuff, but she wasn't particularly interested yet, or desperate, it would happen when it happens, she always thought. All she wanted to do now was to play music … playing music, she was okay with just that.

* * *

"Sorry, you're Yasushi, right." Jun gave the biggest smile she could possibly muster.

"Yeah. Can I help you?" The young man stood, a pair of headphones around his neck.

"I'm Jun." The purple haired girl said. "Aoki Yuka sent me to collect some information on a house."

"Oh." He said. He reached into his pocket, bringing out a folded piece of paper. "I'm sorry if anything is missing, the landlady was in quite a hurry when I met her."

Jun collected the paper, unfolding it and checking its contents, it seemed thorough enough. "Thank you."

"No problem." He turned to leave.

Jun bit her lip, silently cursing her aunt. "Wait." He turned around.

"Did you say something?"

"Yes." Jun paused, gulping. "Um … would you like to get a cup of … coffee?" Really, coffee?

He gave an odd smile. "Sorry … I kinda have something to-"

"It'll just be a bit."

His smile faltered and for a bit Jun saw a look irritation on his face, it was promptly replaced with a shaky smile. "… fine, sure."

Jun couldn't help but wonder why she followed her aunt's advice, maybe she wanted someone to talk to after all. Her aunt was right about something else: Yasushi's hairstyle, it looked weird. His hair would be shorter than hers was it left to its normal length, It looked like it was stuck together in multiple small clumps, like how dreadlocks would be, but his was really short. Overall, it was odd looking and it also made him odd looking by extension. She smiled at the thought of a form of camaraderie centered on unique hairstyles.

"I remember where I've seen you, you're the duelist from T.V, the one that dueled Jack Atlas." Yasushi said, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had ensued.

Jun frowned as she remembered the duel. "Y-yeah." She forced a smile, looking down at her untouched cup of coffee, it was probably cold by now. She looked up to face him. "Do you duel too?"

"I mostly watch, but yeah, I duel from time to time." He answered, his forced smile still on his face. He was trying at least. "Now this feels weird, you being a celebrity and all."

She chuckled a bit. "I'm not exactly a celebrity yet, just a lucky duelist who managed to get on T.V."

"I don't think so. People just don't know its you because of the hoodie, they'd probably flock around you if they find out, you did give Jack Atlas a run for his money."

"I did, didn't I?" She smiled. It didn't make any difference in the end, she thought. He didn't seem do bad, she guessed, but there was somethings about him that she found unsettling, a rather glaring one was the way his haunting grey irises scrutinized her.

She supposed it was normal, she was some sort of celebrity now, naturally he would be wondering why she wanted to have coffee with him, especially because she hadn't really said anything yet, but she didn't like how he looked at her when he thought she wasn't looking. She had been on dates with a number of guys and she recognized the different ways they looked at girls, especially when the perverted ones undressed you with their eyes, but this wasn't it, his look was the type someone gave you when they knew some secret about you.

He was doing it again. Jun looked up to meet his gaze and he just as quickly looked elsewhere, talk about awkward.

"Well, I have to be g-"

Jun interrupted him. "My aunt would probably want to know more about the place, is there anything she should know?"

Yasushi frowned, this time not attempting to cover it up, probably fed up with what he perceived a farce. "Every last saturday of the month, the landlady comes around to inspect the place, she'd nag the ear off whoever's flat is dirty or unkept; there are rats on the ground floor; there's an old couple on the second floor who'd work you to death if you're too nice to them; changing all the locks after moving in would be a smart thing to do."

Was he joking?

"There, I think that's all." He stood up. "I have an unavoidable engagement right now, sorry, I have to go, it was nice meeting you." He gave a small smile before dropping the payment for his untouched cup of coffee and leaving.

Jun was a bit confused, did he not like her? She felt slightly offended. She wasn't egoistic, but that was not how people acted when they met someone they considered a celebrity. He seemed nice at the beginning but now she felt he really didn't like her, she guessed she would have acted the same way if someone had asked her to coffee but didn't say anything afterward, did he actually think she liked him?

She was sure of one thing now, she would never take dating advice from her her aunt again, this was a rather pointless interaction and her aunt would certainly hear something about this.

Jun tried the coffee, making a face, she pulled the cup away from her mouth, it was cold. Sighing, she decided to just pay for it and put this event behind her.

* * *

"Aren't you bothered?" Crow asked. "By now he should be laughing in my face and bragging about how he made it to the finals while I didn't."

He was talking about Jack. Two days after the semi-finals and still nobody had seen him. Yusei grunted in annoyance, his head still ached him, it kept going and coming, and it irritated him how he couldn't do anything thanks to the pain.

"I tried calling him but he didn't answer. The maid at his house said he left with a suitcase after coming back from duel." Crow said.

"He wants to be alone, you know how Jack is." Aki said. The three of them were seated in Yusei's living room, watching T.V and just talking. "He looked pretty shaken up after the match, maybe he just wants to relax and train for the finals, it is an important duel after all."

"Maybe you're right." Crow admitted. "Do you think he'll win."

Aki thought for a moment. "I can't say, he barely managed to win against Jun, I mean he actually had to use Red Nova Dragon against her, he knows he needs to go all out against Silver if he wants to win."

"That duel will be something though." Crow smiled. "Who know maybe it'll eclipse his last duel with Yusei."

"Hey!" Yusei comically added and they all laughed.

"Just like that the tournament's over," Aki said. "Soon we'll all leave again."

"Not necessarily." Yusei said, Aki smiled at that.

Crow stood up. "Well, I have nothing else to do, so I'll just go meet up with Ushio, you might not know, but we've become quite the buds over the years."

"Yeah, sometimes I fear I'll wake up one day and find myself in a horrible situation with those two laughing over me." Yusei said.

Aki laughed. "I don't know why but I just can't imagine Ushio laughing like a kid with Crow while they perform all sorts of antics."

"We're not there yet, but I can see that becoming feasible in the near future." Crow grinned.

"Come to think of it I actually haven't seen him in a while." Yusei mused.

"Busy, maybe?" Crow shrugged. "I'll see you guys later, have fun."

"Have fun, huh." Aki muttered as Crow left.


	11. Chapter 11

Leakage Flux

Aoki Yuka was held in high regard by her Jun, her neice and only remaining family, whether or not she agreed with her niece's assessment of her character was debatable. Either way, she didn't really care what people thought of her anyway, she never did, she had always been a strange combination of impetuousity and shrewdness, and that had been more than enough to get her through the extremely tough times she had faced in her life.

So in a room of her rented one two room apartment, she sat hunched over table, a strange looking monocle over her right eye and an eyepatch over the other. An assortment of equipment sat scattered on the table, after she picked up one and used it she would drop it back and pick another. What she was working on was a small palm sized piece of technology, a lot more complex than it appeared to be.

Yuka looked up from the table, hearing the indistinct sound of the bell, Jun was back, she thought. She carefully removed the lens and the eyepatch, stood up and moved to the door, she gave the room one last glance and closed the door, locked it and dropped the key in her pocket.

"Jun!" Yuka blurted. The purple haired girl, despite knowing of her aunt's eccentricity, was still surprised when Yuka hugged her. "So how did it go?" Yuka asked when they pulled apart.

"Badly, how were you expecting it to go?"

Yuka gave a surprised smile. "So you did ask him to coffee."

Jun scoffed. "You told me to, don't ask surprised." She brought the paper out of her pocket. "Here's your information."

Yuka collected the paper and proceeded to read it. "What exactly happened on the date?"

"Don't call it that." Jun frowned. "I didn't know what to say, it was just awkward. Also, I get the impression that he hates me, I don't even understand, you don't just hate someone for no reason."

"Are you sure you didn't do anything to make him mad?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I don't even know the guy." Jun reasoned. "What did you think would happen anyway?"

"I kinda hoped you guys would connect …" Yuka said in a sort of childish whine. "Oh well, on to different matters. The finals. Who do you think will win, Jack Atlas or Silver?"

Jun thought for a bit, frowning. "I don't especially like any of them, but I definately hate Atlas more, so my hopes are on Silver. To be honest, I don't think Silver has anything that can match Red Nova Dragon, his Star Eater worked mostly due to its surprising entry, he can't do that twice."

"Their dueling styles are quite similar, aren't they?" Yuka said.

"Now that you say it, yeah, they're both focused on summoning powerful synchro monsters to overwhelm their opponents."

"… say, Jun." Yuka said, sounding rather nervous. "Could you do me one last favour? I'll definitely owe you for this, and I intend to pay you back whenever you want and with whatever you choose."

Jun was a bit frightened at the urgency in her aunt's tone. "Are you okay, auntie?"

Yuka bit her lip, she looked a bit scared, and at the same worried and lost. "Jun, I didn't want to put you through this, but my life depends on it."

"… Auntie?"

"I need to to help me keep something somewhere, you might have to sneak into the place … I would do it myself but I can't, I have something else to do at that exact time. You don't have to do it if you don't want to … I could just-"

"I'll do it." Jun said. "I trust you, auntie."

"Thank you, Jun." Yuka hugged Jun again, tears accumulating in her eyes. "I love you, Jun. Don't forget that."

"Auntie …"

* * *

"Is it … well …"

"Dead?" Hatake deadpanned. "Most likely."

Standing next to Hatake were the members of the foreign team who were to aid them in their investigation. The death of which they spoke was of the small organism found within the corpse of the factory worker: Eiji.

"We'll just try and get as much info as we can now, we have no time to waste." A woman, presumably the leader of the foreign team, judging by her manner of speaking. "We'll split into two teams, one will check out the corpse, the other will work on identifying this organism. Well, chop-chop let's get to it."

The foreign team was made up of eight people and as the woman finished speaking, some four of them left. Hatale approached her. "I appreciate your help."

The woman smiled. "No need to be thankful, we've got as much to gain as you, and if you're not careful we might just take the spotlight too."

Hatake smiled back. "I'll like to see you try."

"Ooh, is this a challenge? Well, bring it on."

"I will."

* * *

'Under all that false bravado, you're just a pathetic lying bitch.'

Some woman, her name was unknown to Jack, had said that to him, and at the time they were nothing more than the angry words every woman he had ever dumped spouted upon his doing so, but now he realized she was right.

Ever since the duel with Jun, after she brought up the whole ground zero incident and accused him of killing all those people, he had become troubled and Jack had begun questioning his take on life. He had fled from his house to wallow in solitude, it was just like typical Jack, run away from your problems and if they don't solve themselves, someone else will.

He was far from a good person, whether he could become one in the future was debatable, but he knew he couldn't live life the way he'd been anylonger. Silently brooding, ignoring his problems and smirking like nothing was wrong, expecting people to do what he thought - wanted - them to.

So as he sat in the lawn chair, overlooking the sea from the backyard of his quaint summer house which sat upon a cliff, Jack Atlas made a promise to himself, that from that point onward, he would accept his problems and all the repercussions that came as a result of his actions. His mind went back to the final duel. Winning it would probably mean he would have to be travelling constantly, but before that he had something he had to do, something that he had to get off his chest, a question he had to get answered.

He reached for his phone, worrying about Silver would have to be done later. He cleared the multiple messages and missed calls notification, and began searching his phone book for a name: 'Carly Nagisa'. He tapped her number and the call began, the dial tone seemed to play for minutes before she answered.

"Hello?" He heard her voice through the phone.

"Carly, it's Jack," he said. "… Jack Atlas." He repeated, who knew, she probably knew multiple people by the name Jack, though it's not exactly a Japanese name so the odds of that are quite slim. He shook his head, he was getting away from the point. "Are you, maybe, free anytime tomorrow? I was wondering if I could to talk to you … I have something to tell you."

"Uh, I guess I'm free 2 o'clock tomorrow." She replied. "Are you okay, you sound … odd."

"I'm fine … where can we meet up tomorrow?"

"Stephanie's should be fine."

Jack paled, another unpleasant memory flashed through his mind. "Y-yeah, Step- Stephanie's place is fine. I'll see you there, then."

"Okay." She hung up.

He put his hand over his forehead as he thought of Stephanie. Wow, he really was a terrible person.

* * *

Another puff of smoke escaped Jun's lips, the burnt out part of the cigarette fell, she paused for a bit before bringing it to her lips again. The process repeated again. Smoking was one of her less than proper habits, she had picked it up during her first two years in high school before she was forced to drop out. Her parents funds had ran dry by that time, how exactly it did eluded her, all she knew was that the money was gone.

After her parents death she had a guardian in the person of Okita Yuma, a colleague and close friends of her dad, he helped her for the first three years after their death, living with his family was one of the happiest times she had the opportunity to witness after that tragedy. She wasn't exactly sure why, but Yuma had dropped her in an orphanage after those three years, he made sure to inform them of her parents money, hopefully so they would help her manage it, they probably had a hand in how it finished so quickly.

Pretty soon the orphanage went under and she found herself on the streets, forced to drop out from school. It was tough living like that, but she managed to survive, somehow. The exact events that went on during those two years of living on the streets, she hadn't told a soul, not even the aunt she highly revered, they were secrets no one else would probably ever lay eyes on, never.

When she told Yasushi that she was just a lucky duelist who managed to appear on T.V, she wasn't being humble. She had only began dueling professionally about a year ago, after her aunt helped her avert a sentence in Juvenile detention, Yuka was a real shining light in her world of darkness, she helped her get back to normal living and was the one who suggested dueling as a profession. Izumi and Jun always loved dueling as kids, the day Izumi, her mother and father had died was a bitter one for her, even before their deaths. Jack Atlas was quite the idol for them, then, and it was a big thing to be finally able to see him duel live, however, Jun had gotten ill and had to stay back, her eleven year old self had cried quite a lot when she was told she couldn't go, she wasn't grateful about it now, often times, while she was on the streets, she wished she had died with them that day, even now she still did sometimes.

The organizers of the Asia Top Duelist tournament had left a slot open while announcing the competitors, it was a bonus spot, they said. People had to vote for whoever they wanted to see there, and in a rare lucky moment, Jun had been the winner, she hadn't realized that people like sharp-mouthed, trash-talking boyish Jun who didn't have a single shred of womanly charm, but it had happened. Offers had begun pouring in, after her first duel in the tournament, even after her loss to Jack Atlas they still came.

Her aunt had set her life back on track, for that Jun was ever grateful, she even overlooked the woman's shadyness and the disappearing act she pulled from time to time, because she knew Yuka really loved her, and she loved her two, they were each other's only family, and they would stick together no matter what.

Clutching the alien contraption tightly, Jun reaffirmed herself, despite the danger, she would do it.

* * *

The air around was damp, it smelt weird, tasted weird, it felt weird, and so did he. As Hatake saw the scene before him he felt an odd mixture of emotions: relief, fear, confusion, a bit of anger and a mounting feeling of suspicion.

It was three days ago his team began work with the foreign team, nothing had come out of it, and now he was sure nothing would. Three fire trucks surrounded the headquarters, the building in which Hatake and the foreign team did their work, the building which contained the intriguing corpse of Hiroto Eiji and the peculiar organism they knew nothing about, that building was now nothing more than a few walls of bricks.

The fire had razed everything, the body and the organism were gone. A disturbingly sounding chuckle escaped his lips … they were gone, just like that.

Hatake wasn't proud of himself, he was no longer needed here, soon he would go back to Tokyo and get put on another case and this stint in Neo Domino city would be all forgotten. Part of him was glad this happened, the case was going nowhere, all they had been doing was filling up a catalogue of impossibilities and he was happy it was over, now there would be no blemish on his record, there would be no case the great Suzuki Hatake did no solve. Another part of him was scared, frightened, suspicious, but at who? At what? He didn't know. All he knew was that whatever happened to Eiji wasn't natural but he couldn't bring himself to say that supernatural forces were involved, he was a man of science dammit!

"I-"

"Sir, you might have to move back a bit."

"W-What?" Hatake sputtered.

"You have to move back a bit." The man repeated. "We have to make sure there aren't any more leakages."

"Leakage?" Hatake repeated, finally getting a good look of the man who spoke to him. A dark skinned man with a rather large scar on his face, he had a badge in his hand so he was probably a detective. A gas leak? How stupid did they think he was, the entire Neo domino city was powered by the never ending supply of Momentum, how could there possibly be a gas leak, hardly anybody used cooking gas anymore if that's what they were planning to insist, and in a police building, come on?

"The transformer blew."

" … oh." Hatake paused, suddenly wondering why he panicked. Maybe he needed to rest, this whole Eiji business had him on edge, the lack of progress was probably getting to him in more ways than he realized.

"Are you okay?" The detective asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Hatake replied. "I'll be going now." As he left the building behind, he wondered, so it was just over now, just like that, he would go back home to Saya, oh how he missed her.

He found himself caressing the engagement ring on his finger, thinking about his bride to be, those entralling blue eyes of hers. He wanted to get away from here, he wanted to be with her, needed to … he was just confused, he needed to pause, relax and navigate his way through his emotional maelstrom.

A thought that continued to recur was that the transformer didn't spontaneosly blow up, he didn't know what could have caused it, but he knew it wasn't whatever they said did, he just knew.

* * *

He had always been a sucker for routine, and this had become just that. Every friday he would find his way to Amber Valley to visit Dr. Armin, he would do nothing but stare at the man for an hour or so, desperately hoping he would suddenly wake up and say something. That's just how he was, if he happened to do something twice or three times, it would be incredibly hard to stop.

So Anselm stared at the man's green eyes, still hoping for some sort of miracle.

The door creaked as it opened and he turned around sharply, he whined inwardly as he saw who it was: Ever cheerful Doctor Akira, just his luck. The woman gave him her signature smile and he managed to give a smile of his.

As she sat next to him, Akira noticed how tense he was, but she chalked it up as his usual shyness. "Still coming here, I see. I was scared that I might have chased you away."

"No, you didn't do anything that could scare me away."

"You're not mad at me or anything?"

"No." He replied. "Why would I be?" He knew why, and he looked at her warily, she had flipped out when he told her he couldn't get the documents. He hadn't lied to her, but he didn't tell the truth either, he had become quite skilled at doing that, a little knowledge of semantics was what was needed. He actually hadn't tried to get the papers, the thought of trying never seriously crossed his mind, he wasn't stupid, he knew they wouldn't hand over the papers, even if he was Dr. Armin's nephew, he had no claim whatsoever, so he had told her 'I couldn't get it', not 'They didn't give me', 'I didn't go', or 'They would never give me', just plain and nebulous 'I couldn't get it.'

A few years ago, he would feel guilty about doing that, back then he was a horrible goody-two-shoes but now … now he didn't. He jokingly thought he might have become more sociopathic, borderline psychopathic, over the years, but he wasn't quite there … yet. Yes, yet. Nothing he was doing currently would alleviate his problems, id anything they only served to fester them, he was slightly unhinged, he knew that, but what he didn't know was if he could be normal like he used to be a long, long time ago. Maybe he thought Dr. Armin would give him the answer, maybe not.

Akira sighed, turning her gaze to Armin, she looked at him almost lovingly. "I admired him too, you know." She sounded like she was going to cry. "Why did this have to happen to him?"

Anselm agreed with her, it was unfair, he had so many questions to ask, so many that had been left unanswered, and fate didn't give a shit about that. He wasn't too bothered either, he was sure he had terrible luck, everything he ever tried to hard to hold on to ended up slipping through his fingers, even those he didn't realize he did. When it would stop, he didn't know, and part of him had convinced himself that until he was an old man sitting on the streets, until he was poor and lonely, until life had taken back everything it had given him, it wouldn't stop.

"I'll leave you alone now." She said, sniffling and Anselm looked on in surprise, sometime during his internal monologue, she had let out a few tears, how close was she to Dr. Armin, really.

She closed the door behind her, leaving Anselm to his lonely and depressing thoughts. He finally spoke, uttering the first words he had ever directed at the man ever since his breakdown. "Why won't you say anything?"

* * *

"Can you walk with me?"

Carly nodded, they had downed their coffee without either of them saying a thing. She had to admit, she was worried about Jack, he had sounded really desperate on the phone, the idea was somewhat laughable but her mind seemed to believe he had some illness, he wasn't really dying, was he?

"Jack, are you okay?" The blue haired woman asked. They had left Stephanie's already, Stephanie wasn't in, she didn't notice how glad Jack was about that. "You're not … dying or anything, right?"

"God no. As far as I know I'm perfectly healthy." Jack managed a smile. "I … I just want to tell you something." He turned to face her. To be frank, he felt weird being around her, not because of his unresolved feelings, but because of the way she acted now, as if nothing was wrong between them. He desperately hoped it was an act, if she actually felt that way it would mean she was actually over him, Jack gulped as the thought crossed his mind.

They had arrived at the park. The sun shone brightly and the wind, while cool, wasn't enough to counteract the sun's heat, making walking rather unpleasant due to the sweating it caused. Carly followed Jack silently, not even complaining about the aimless walking, she seemed lost in thoughts of her own, like him, but he found her silence frightening, the Carly he had known and fallen in love with had been extremely chipper and impulsive, and she had no fear doing what she believed she was to do, he hoped that woman was still in there.

Jack stopped at a small pond at the edge of the park. People were not so many there, probably why he picked the spot, Carly thought.

"Carly, there's something I need to tell you." Jack finally spoke. "I love you." He wasn't sure which reactions he would have deemed the best or worst, but her reaction wasn't one that connoted positivity.

"J-Jack, I-I …" Carly looked away uncomfortably, her hands fumbling around each other.

His eyes went to her nervous hands, they had been doing that for a while, he saw it and his heart sank. It was surprising that he hadn't seen it at the coffee shop, but he'd have to be blind to not notice it now that the sun was shining brightly, she had a ring on, she had gotten engaged.

"Y-you can't just … what do you expect me to-"

"Carly." He cut her off. "I have to say this now or I'm sure I'll continue to regret it for the rest of my life." He paused, he felt sick. Some sort of alien emotion washed over him and it felt as if his own bile had been forced down his throat, it tasted bitter and vile, he was going to throw up … he didn't, he wasn't very glad about that, part of him wanted something to use as an excuse so he could running away and lick his wounds. "I see you're … engaged … all I want is to let you know how I feel. I love you. I have no right to ask you to leave him, and I won't, I don't expect you to reciprocate my feelings, I just want you to know."

"W-what …" Carly managed to say amidst the conflicting sea emotions she felt. "What do you expect me to say, Jack? What do you expect me to do? Run back into your arms now, abandon my fiancé." Her voice was hoarse and unforgiving. "Seven years, Jack, for seven years you were away, now you expect to come back to Neo Domino city to good old Carly Nagisa who'll be sure to stay chaste and wait for you like some dumb loyal bitch."

"No, I-"

"Shut up!" She yelled. "Just shut up!"

The people around looked their way, some turned away after a moment, others, the majority, decided to stick around and pay attention.

"You knew how I felt seven years ago, you knew that I loved you, but did that stop you from leaving? no, you didn't even have the decency to say goodbye." As Carly spoke, initial confusion and conflict turned into anger as she began to rant. "You didn't even so much as make call this past two years and you expect me to reciprocate your feelings?"

For a moment, in lieu of the remorse and guilt he should have felt, Jack Atlas was glad, glad he had worn the hat and trenchcoat, now people wouldn't know it was him, and it wouldn't lead to some controversy. He kicked himself inwardly was thinking of such, but he had already done it.

"You travel around the world doing all sorts of shit for seven years and you expect me to accept you with open arms?"

"No, I said-"

"Shut up!" She yelled. "You might not have cared about me, Jack, but trust me, I tried to contact you and you never answered. You probably thought nobody else would ever love Carly Nagisa the Nerdy Journalist, but Alex does, and unlike you he isn't a selfish asshole! After you left, like the naive girl I was, I waited for you, following your every move like some whipped bitch while hoping you would come back, and boy did I follow every move, Jack, every move."

Jack flinched, but Carly was unrelenting. "Every selfish act and every idiotic mistake you made, every affair you had and every unfortunate woman you decieved and used, Jack, I knew. So don't you every let me hear those words addressed to me come out of your filthy mouth again, Jack Atlas, or I swear to God I'll make you hate the day you were born!"

She said his full name, so much for averting controversy.

She turned to leave, but before she got too far she turned around and told Jack something. While those words brought a large amount of relief to Jack, they led to an even greater amount of self hate that Jack was n0t sure he'd get over.

"Just so you know, Stephanie didn't keep it, I'm sure that'll bring a massive smile to your face."


	12. Chapter 12

Treading Lightly

Silver stared at his reflection in his mirror. He dreaded the final duel, and at the same time he looked forward to it. Winning the tournament would be a very big deal, but he was scared of winning, if he did win, there was a large probablity he would be forced to ditch his mask.

He had managed to use the mask for so long because he had begun in the underground scene, gaining a reputation after participating in numerous duels involving money betting. His manager was probably the closest person to him, he was the one who encouraged him to don the mask, he was the one who took care of the complocations that came with it.

Silver didn't realize how popular he was until he got the invitation for the tournament, when he did, the same set of emotions that had plauged him as a teenager came back. He always had an inner conflict, one part of him sought out fame and recognition and the other part was scared of the repercussions that came with such and the effect it had on the people around him. The mask had provided some sort of security, alienating him from his dueling persona, this success threatened to destroy that security and he was scared.

Today was the day of the duel, there was no going back now, he would give it his all and fate would decide if it would cause him to abandon his mask or not.

* * *

Kudo Yamato was Silver's manager, the only person close enough to the Masked Marauder to be regarded as a friend. Despite the large difference in age, Silver saw him not as a father figure, but as an older brother he never had, Yamato understood him and his feelings, despite how childish they were and decided to help him. Obviously, Yamato was getting a fair share of Silver's profits, but Silver always considered himself indebted to the man.

Yamato was surprised when he recieved a message from Silver telling him he would be late, Silver was normally such a stickler for rules, he wondered what it could be that would make him late, he decided to call him. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah." The voice at the other side of the line said.

Yamato wasn't convinced, Silver's voice sounded stiff. "Are you sure? You sound a bit odd."

"Yeah, there's … no problem, I think. I feel … weird."

Yamoto was concerned now. "Don't think too much about it, it's just another duel, you won't have to lose the mask or anything."

"I don't think so."

Yamato supressed a sigh. "C'mon, ultimately its up to you to choose whatever direction your career goes, it'll hurt you more if you back out of this duel now, think about your fans." There was silence on the other end. "Are you still going to be late?"

"Yeah, I have something unavoidable …"

"Just don't back out now."

"Sure." Silver replied before hanging up.

Yamato sighed, suddenly feeling like a babysitter of sorts, when did Silver become this difficult, he wondered. Since Silver was arriving late, he decided to get through the procedures so he would just begin the duel when he came.

* * *

Jun was in an interesting get-up. A blue cap sat atop her head, hiding her purple hair from view, she was wearing a blue and white security uniform, black boots and a baton was strapped around her waist. A hand was clasped over her nose and mouth as she trudged through the damp, dark pipeline.

A hand reached into her pants pocket, bringing out a phone. On the screen of the phone was a map of sorts, she looked at the junction ahead then back at the map, she slid her finger across the screen, moving to another portion of the map, she checked the time then proceeded to lock the screen and replacing the phone in her pocket. It was six o'clock, she was doing good time.

She had woken at five, and about fifteen minutes ago Tetsuya had gotten her into the pipeline, she grit her teeth in annoyance, what job could that guy possibly have that was more important than hers? The pipeline was disgusting, abandoned it might be but the people in charge clearly hadn't cleaned it out after ditching it. It smelled horrible, Jun couldn't even think of anything else to compare it to, the walls were covered with a myriad of organisms and on the floors were several puddles of what she tried to believe was sewage, even though she knew it probably wasn't.

Her left hand kept her flashlight steady while her right gripped the strap of the bag she wore on her back, she would certainly walk faster without it, but inside it was the strange contraption she was to plant. It was illegal, she knew, breaking into the Momentum reactor plantsite and messing with the machinery, but it was necessary. Yuka had made it, she spent hours in that weird room of hers doing all sorts of stuff Jun didn't understand, now her lack of advanced education annoyed her, maybe she could have helped her aunt, or at least not looked so hopelessly stupid, if she knew more about Physics. Maybe it would be possible to have her aunt teach her after she sorted out her affairs, just maybe …

Her job was simple, on paper that is, it was actually much harder to do in real life. She was to sneak through the pipeline into the main reactor hold, the bigger contraption was supposed to be hooked to one of the reactors, both her aunt and Tetsuya insisted that she didn't need any special suit to approach the reactors, she wasn't so convinced, she didn't want to get bombarded by some kind of radiation and end up sterile, or worse get cancer, she wasn't too concerned about it now but she wanted to get married later on and have kids of her own, kids were nice. The smaller gadjet would have to be connected to the main control board, how she would get there and connect it without being noticed was a conundrum her aunt and Tetsuya failed to give a solution to.

"Finally!" She whispered, she had arrived at the point of entry and boy was she glad to leave the disgusting pipeline, for now at least, she still had to leave through it after she was done. Her gloved hands threathened to slip as she climbed the short ladder to the hatch above, but she managed to hold on, she tried the hatch, it didn't budge at first and she almost panicked, what if it was sealed shut? Luckily all it needed was a little more effort, and after a few seconds she managed to get it open.

She gasped for fresh air as she climbed out the hatch, breathing in and out until she was convinced her lungs were finally rid of the horrible sewer air. She checked her phone and opened an entirely different map, a number of routes were mapped out each in different colours.

There would be guards patrolling the facility, but not so many, nobody really wanted to mess with the Momentum reactors, power was very important in this day and age, should the people find out someone was trying to tamper with the reactors there was a large chance the culprit would be lynched, scary, huh? 'The people of Neo Domino City, while normally not savages could well be regarded as such during matters involving tampering with the Momentum.' Jun didn't know why but Yuka always said that. She wasn't trying to destroy the reactor, she wasn't stupid, Yuka regarded this little operation of theirs as an attempt at borrowing some momentum, it was more-or-less a perpetual motion machine and nobody would notice if they brought a few more mouths to the never ending stream.

After looking around a bit, Jun decided on a route to take, and tightening her grip on the bag, she began to walk, continuing her noble mission.

* * *

It was seven o'clock, Hatake was seated in the Neo Domino park, the place was cold, the sun was not quite out yet.

The investigation had been stopped and Eiji's death had been officially stated as suicide, this was Hatake's last day in Neo Domino City, tomorrow he would be leaving for Tokyo where another case was waiting for him. He planned to spend the day sightseeing and enjoying himself, he would take a couple of photos and buy a couple of things, most importantly a special sourvenir for Saya.

He didn't know why he thought of it, maybe he still missed the case a bit, but the new skating rink that opened up seemed like a good place to start. Eiji's body had been found there but nobody seemed to even remember that, it was just one suicide after all, right? He found himself disgusted by the thought, but hey, what better way to forget your worries than to gracefully float across the air.

He tossed his empty coffee cup into a trashcan and left the park. The rink would open by eight so he had quite some time to get there, in the mean time he was thinking maybe he would get breakfast in one of the popular Neo Domino restaurants, he might not have found out anything useful from his investigation but he still got paid, and he intended on putting perhaps the only good thing he got from the case to good use.

Did he really love her, or did he just want company, to not be left alone. After Carly had so graciously spelt out his actions during those seven years Jack had realize how stupid he sounded telling her he loved her after all that he had done. He didn't deserve her love, not anymore, but he felt like he did love her …

Jack shook his head, snapping himself out of his thoughts of Carly Nagisa, his duel with Silver was now, the fateful duel was now. If he didn't stay focused he would lose, he knew that Silver was no ordinary duelist and he had to be at the top of his game to beat him, he didn't possess Yusei's level of strategy planning but he was smart, enough so he could set up a contingency plan, a defense, and attack, all at the same time. Jack had to trump all that smartness and win, he would trump it and he would win.

The crowd roared, louder than ever, as Jack's name was announced and he walked out onto the field, Silver was already waiting there, his bizarre mask carefully worn over his face. The formalities were taken care of and Silver was chosen to have the first turn.

Both duelists approached each other and proceeded to shake hands, firmly. They went back to their initial positions and held up their Duel Disk in the normal stance.

"It's time to …" the MC bellowed.

"DUEL!" The entire arena shook as the word was shouted.

Jack: 4000 Silver: 4000

"My turn." Silver drew his card.

Jack narrowed his eyes, Silver's voice sounded distorted, he was masking his voice.

"I set a monster and end my turn." A horizontally oriented reversed card appeared before Silver.

"My turn." Jack added a card to his hand. "Draw!" He placed a card onto his Duel Disk. "Since you control a monster and I don't, Vice Dragon's effect allows me to special him from my hand."

A moderately sized dragon appeared. The dragon possed purple skin and green wings, it looked a bit sickly though, and the way it stood implied it was. (5/2000 - 1000/2400 - 1200)

"He's weakened as a result, but he isn't here to battle. I summon Force Resonator."

Like the other Resonators, force resonator was small and behind the grey helmet it wore only its blood red orb-like eyes and its perfectly white smiling teeth could be seen. An odd black orb was strapped to its back. (2/500/500)

"I tune Force Resonator to Vice Dragon!"

À la the normal synchro summoning process, the smaller tuner monster turned into two green rings that the weakened dragon flew through. The explosion of light followed after.

"Synchro summon! Chaos King Archfiend!"

The resulting Synchro Monster, like most of Jack's, was, simply put, monstrous. Its body was bony and thin, exuding an odd purple energy, its wings were flaming and its head seemed to have suffered a similar fate. (7/2600/2600)

"Chaos King Archfiend, attack!"

The crowd cheered as the fiend let loose a torrent of dark energy that vaporized the comcealed monster.

"CheepCheepCheep's flip effect activates, allowing me to special summon Genomix Fighter from my deck!"

A beast-like humanoid creature appeared, it looked like a cross between a human and a lion-esque animal, or an evolution of the latter. It was garbed in futuristic looking armor. (6/2200/1100)

"I set a card facedown and end my turn." A reversed card appeared before Jack.

The crowd's cheering only grew louder as Silver began his turn. "I tribute Genomix Fighter to summon Great Maju Garzett!"

Often a comparison was drawn between the Egyptian god monster Obelisk the Tormentor and Great Maju Garzett, two things both undeniably had was an intimidating appearance and the attack power to match. The large fiend appeared, its miscoloured skin looking as vibrant as ever. (6/0 - 4400/0)

"Great Maju Garzett, attack Chaos King!"

"I activate Fiendish Chain!" Jack's reversed card flipped up. "This card targets an effect monster, negates its effect and renders it incapable to attack. With its effect gone, Great Maju Garzett loses its attack points."

As the mighty fiend lunged at the weaker one, chains suddenly shot out of Jack's Trap Card and wrapped themselves around it, binding it completely. (6/ 4400 - 0/0)

"I set two cards and end my turn." Silver stated and the cards appeared behind the weakened fiend.

Jack exhaled deeply as he drew his card. Silver hadn't synchro summoned even though he probably had the chance, he was probably testing the waters. If he was going to wait, Jack decided he would just have to give him too much to handle. He placed one of the four cards in his hand onto the Duel Disk. "I activate Foolish Burial, this Spell Card allows me to send a monster in my deck to my graveyard, I choose Level Eater."

Silver didn't react, Jack continued: "I activate Level Eater's effect, by reducing the level of a level 5 or higher monster I control by one I can special summon it from my graveyard." The flaming winged fiend's level reduced by one as a small portal appeared beside it. (7 - 6/2600/2600)

Out of the portal, a small insect, a beetle perhaps came out, it turned blue to signify its defense position. (1/600/0)

"Next, I summon Barrier Resonator!"

A small fiend appeared holding a golden tuning fork and a rod with an orange sphere at the end. On its back was what seemed to be an charge carrying device. (1/300/800)

"Could Jack Atlas' ace be making an appearance this early on?!" The MC bellowed.

"No." Jack unneccessarily answered. "I tune Barrier Resonator to my now level seven Chaos King Archfiend!"

The small fiend transformed into a lone green ring that Chaos King Archfiend flew into.

"Synchro summon! Dark Highlander!"

The explosion of light occured, but instead of dissipating as it normally did, it seemd to contract, focusing and reducing into a single orb of light. A large scythe cut it into two and another fiend appeared. Unlike Chaos King Archfiend which was stripped to its core, Dark Highlander was well garbed in robes with patterns of gold, white and black, its cape fluttered behind it, it exuded an aura that seemed to connote its position as a sort of adjudicator. (7/2800/2300)

"Dark Highlanders effect prevents either of us from synchro summoning." Jack smirked. "Lets see how you fare without your powerhouses."

"Amazing!" The MC screamed. "Jack Atlas has shut down synchro summons, Silver's deck focuses on high leveled synchro summoning, will this spell doom for the Masked Marauder?"

Jack laughed. "Dark Highlander, destroy Great Maju Garzett!"

* * *

Ruka made her way to the kitchen, she looked terrible, she had bags under her eyes and she moved sluggishly, she hadn't slept at all last night. Rua, Rebecca, Crow, Yusei and Aki had gone to the Kaiba Dome to support Jack in the final, she was meant to go too but she had to take a rain check, she wasn't in the best of shape.

It started about two weeks ago when she began to have these dreams … no, nightmares would be more appropriate. She had dreaded sleeping ever since. Normally, no matter how hard she tried she would eventually fall asleep but last night she didn't, somehow she managed to stay awake and now she realized how much she took sleep for granted. Her eyes stung irritatingly and she felt like she would pass out if she attempted any simple task, she desperately needed to sleep but at the same time she wouldn't if it meant having another nightmare.

She fumbled through the kitched cabinets, searching for sleeping pills, she once heard that you wouldn't dream if you took those, maybe they were the answer to her problems.

Ruka groaned in annoyance, there were no sleeping pills, there wasn't any medicine even, if she wanted to get any sleeping pills she would have to go out and get it. Her face turned pale, not outside … not right now, at least, she would definitely choose having nightmares over going outside now. She steeled herself, deciding to stay put till the gang came back.

Thinking that maybe watching Jack's duel would help, she made her way to the couch and switched the T.V on.

* * *

Dark Highlander struck an invisible barrier, his scythe bounced back with a resounding clang.

Jack: 4000 Silver: 4000 - 6800

"Thanks to my Trap Card: Draining Shield, your attack is negated and my Life Points increased by your monster's attack points." Silver replied, his shoulders relaxed a bit.

Jack wasn't bothered by his defense. "I set a card and end my turn."

"Silver defends successfully! Now can he turn the tables or will he be forced to defend, helpless against the effect of Dark Highlander?!" The ever reliable commentary of the MC could be heard.

"I draw." Silver now had three cards in his hand. "I summon Mist Archfiend!"

Another fiend appeared, beyond the abdomen, the lower body of this fiend was composed of shapeless mist. It possessed sharp brown claws and two large horns and its body seemed to be mainly covered by red skin and a black exoskeleton. (5/2400/0)

"Though it's a level 5 monster, Mist Archfiend allows me to normal summon it without tributing, but in return, when my turn ends it is destroyed and I take 1000 points of damage. "Mist Archfiend, attack Dark Highlander!"

Jack rasied an eyebrow but did nothing. Silver's move made sense as soon as he played a Quick-play Spell Card from his hand. "Ego Boost! When a monster attacks, I can activate this card, it grants a monster on the field 1000 Attack Points. Mist Archfiend will be getting that boost!"

The large clawed fiend glowed red as it's power increased. (5/2400 - 3400/0)

Mist Archfiend slashed through Dark Highlander after a short exchange of blows, Silver drew first blood.

Jack: 4000 - 3400 Silver: 6800

"I switch Great Maju Garzett to defense position and end my turn. Mist Archfiend's effect activates now." The weakened fiend took a knee and as it did Mist Archfiend crumbled to nothing and the remaining mist encircled Silver.

Jack: 3400 Silver: 6800 - 5800

"My turn." Jack drew. 'Here comes the mid-duel lull.' He thought. "I summon Phantom King Hydride."

A black horse appeared, reined by a warrior garbed in silver armor. The warrior brandished his weapon as the horse neighed, its brown tail swishing around behind it. (3/1500/300)

"Phantom King Hydride, attack Great Maju Garzett!"

The horse riding warrior rode toward the chained fiend and struck it, destroying it instantly.

"I set a card and end my turn." A reversed card appeared next to Jack's first one. Silver's lone face-down card flipped up as soon as Jack's appeared.

"I activate Xing Zhen Hu!" Jack cursed inwardly as Silver announced this. A purple miasma emanated from the odd looking artifact that appeared next to silver, the miasma moved to cover Jack's reversed cards. "This card activates by targeting two set Spell or Trap Cards on the field, I selected two of yours, and the targeted cards cannot be activated as long as Xing Zhen Hu remains on the field."

"Shit!" Jack cursed.

"My turn." Silver cooly stated.

Jack frowned. Silver now had two cards in his hand, to most it might be difficult to mount a counter with that but Jack knew that Silver only really needed one cards to do that: Masked Chameleon. With his set cards unable to activate, all he had was a low-powered level 3 monster and no cards in his hand, things were looking terrible for him, he could only hope Silver didn't have a Masked Chameleon card in his hand.

"I summon Masked Chameleon."

'Crap.'

The dreaded blue eyed Chameleon appeared, wearing its green and yellow mask and wagging its long red tongue mockingly at Jack. (4/1600/1100)

"When Masked Chameleon is summoned, I can special summon a monster from my graveyard which possesses 0 Defense Points, I choose Mist Archfiend."

The mist covered fiend reappeared next to the Chameleon, it flexed its claws in anticipation. (5/2400/0)

"I tune Masked Chameleon to Mist Archfiend."

The Chameleon tranformed into four green rings, Mist Archfiend flew into it. The fiend was reduced into five stars and an explosion of light occured.

"Synchro summon Giganticastle!"

A humongous rock golem appeared out of the light. Imposing it was, and its power was just as great. (8/2900 - 3100/2800)

"Since I used only one non-tuner monster, Giganticastle gets a 200 Attack Points boost. Now," Silver pointed towards Jack Atlas, letting out an odd sounding cackle. "Giganticastle, crush him!"


	13. Chapter 13

Everything Cursed and Evil

The woman sitting beside Hatake sighed again for the umpteenth time, Hayate joined her this time. He had sadly miscalculated how much he would eat and how much time he would spend eating, by the time he left the restaurant it was past eight and he was too full to skate, he had decided it would be best to wait so after spending some time in an arcade he made his way to his rink. The amount of people present was unsurprisingly much and as such he had to wait for a while. The woman sitting beside him was waiting too, and she had been sighing ever since.

Hatake turned his head slightly so he could get a look at her. She had extremely long blue hair and she wore glasses, she wasn't dressed especially well but her dressing wasn't bad either and, while she was beautiful, she looked oddly pitiful and her facial expression seemed to imply she was facing some sort of quagmire. There was an American movie Hatake liked, not because of the plot, but because of the exceptional acting, the female lead had almost the exact same expression on her face at one point in the movie, she had fallen in love with a serial killer and couldn't make up her mind on if she should turn him in or elope with him.

"Nervous?" He asked.

"Huh?"

"Nervous about the rink?"

"Oh, no … not exactly." She replied.

He noticed her hand fiddling with the ring on her finger. "Ooh … having second thoughts about getting married? Can't say I don't know what's its like." He showed her his engagement ring.

"You seem calm enough." The woman raised an eyebrow.

Hatake gave a small laugh. "Yeah, now." He smiled. "I remember, when I actually proposed, afterwards I thought to myself, 'What the hell did I just do?', at that time the idea of getting married felt like some alien concept that just brought up red flags everywhere, now … it feels nice to know that I'm not the only terrible person."

The woman let out a weak chuckle. "How very helpful you're being." She muttered sarcastically.

"You're welcome." He stretched out an hand. "Suzuki Hatake, nice to meet you."

Carly Nagisa wasn't sure if she could trust this man, but she needed someone to talk to and he seemed like a good candidate, being engaged and all, he might be able to help her out of the problem she found herself in. "Carly, Nagisa Carly." She shook his hand.

"Carly, huh, now that's an uncommon name in these parts."

Carly smiled. "Well, my mom was quite the adventurous person."

"I see." Hatake said. "Getting cold feet? You've been sighing non-stop for the past thirty minutes or so."

"It's no cold feet per say … actually it is, but it's not because I'm scared. It's just that there's this … other … guy."

"Did you two have an affair or something?"

"No." Carly was quick to respond. "God no." He raised an eye-brow at that. "Some years back, we were attracted to each other … I think we still are, I'm not sure. He left, and while I tried to maintain contact he didn't seem as enthusiastic." He actually had a few girlfriends, Carly wanted to add but decided against it. "Now he comes back,after I've gotten engaged, to tell me that he loves me. I don't believe him … I know I don't, but …"

"It seems you still have feelings for him." Hatake finished for her.

"I don't know what to do, I'm just confused right know."

"Somebody once told me that we don't choose the person we love." Hatake said. "I don't entirely believe that, I think the person meant those words to be some sort of consolation, see, not too long ago my bestfriend had a girlfriend, her name was Saya. It was quite annoying hearing him ramble on about how great she was, I didn't like her, she came off as a dumb and clueless airhead. My friend had this naive insistence that all his friends and family get along so he forced us to get to know each other, well, stuff happened and now Saya and I are engaged to be married."

Carly gave him a confused look, she didn't get the point of the story.

"What I'm trying to say is you shouldn't try to spare anybody's feelings. Blake and I drifted apart thanks to that, he probably thinks I'm some terrible monster who brainwashed his girlfriend, but I didn't do that. I could have cut things off with Saya in an attempt to be a 'good' friend, but their relationship wouldn't have continued even if I did that, so I didn't. I don't think anyone should love, or compromise love, because they feel some sort of obligation to someone."

"Wow. Now I get the impression that you're an asshole."

"Well, I-"

"I'm just joking." Carly laughed, Hatake smiling in return. "Dumb and clueless airhead, huh, does she know about that one?"

"Well …" Hatake coughed uncomfortably as Carly laughed. "Not everyone finds love at first sight."

Calrly found herself feeling much better. Laughter didn't cure all diseases, but it was safe to say it was a pretty good medicine. "Thank you, for talking to me."

"No need to be, this is the sort of thing Saya would call my natural obligation to the world."

"Really?" Her smile widened. "How exactly did she change from 'dumb and clueless airhead' to 'soon to be wife'?"

"You really don't want to know." Hatake replied. "You'll probably end up adding more than an asshole tag to my name."

"It can't be that bad, besides we still have quite sometime to wait, what better way to pass the time than trading stories?"

"Oh, so you'll tell me about the two mystery men?"

Carly though for a bit. "If you tell me about her, yes."

"Do I have your word on that?" He offered a hand.

Carly shook his hand. "Yeah."

* * *

At about 7:30 am that day, before the final duel began and before Hatake met Carly, Jun was about making her escape from the facility.

"Hey, you."

Still garbed in the security uniform, Jun continued walking, having just exited the control room.

"Hey!" The man called again. "I'm talking to you wearing the cap."

Jun turned slowly, adjusting the cap to cover more of her face, and in the deepest tone she could muster she spoke. "Oh, me?" She pointed a finger at her chest.

"Yes, you." The man walked up to her. He had no distinctive features, he looked like he was in his mid-thirties, he had blond hair, odd, Jun thought, when did Japanese men start getting blonde as a natural hair colour. His blue eyes scrutinized her. "Did you just come out of the control room?"

"Yes, I thought I heard something there, turns out it was nothing, I didn't find anything."

"Oh, you're new here, right?"

"Yeah." Jun nodded.

"In the future you should probably steer clear of the place, Gulliver won't be so happy if he sees you there."

'Gulliver?' Jun thought. Outwardly she nodded in aknowledgement. "Sure, I wouldn't want to annoy the boss and lose my job on my first day." She laughed and the man joined in.

He put a arm on her shoulder, she visibly flinched, but she managed not to buckle under the weight of his arm. "Take care of yourself."

"I will." Jun gave a weak smile. "Thanks for the heads up."

The man removed his arm from her shoulder but he didn't move, he seemed to be waiting for her to leave. Jun got the hint and slowly she turned to walk away. The seemingly irrelevant act of giving the man a quick last glance was one Jun would be thankful for, though not as much as she really ought to.

Adrenaline worked wonders, Jun thought. As she gave the man one last glance she saw his right hand reach for something behind him, instinctively, with speed and agility she didn't know she had, she removed the bag from its place on her back and chucked it at the man. The stun gun's wires latched on to the useless bag instead.

The man clicked his tongue in annoyance as Jun began to run, he followed, dropping the stun gun without much thought.

The momentum reactors were housed in a large compound, within the only building present in the compound, the building was large enough to house the large reactors and also the control room, though both were at opposite side. They were still inside the building so Jun didn't have much of an option when it came to what direction to run in, and the man knew that.

"Shit! Shit!" Jun cursed, the man was gaining on her. He was thirty and working a lousy security job, how in hell was he fast enough to keep up with a youthful girl like herself.

The man laughed, the laugh was genuine, he was amused, Jun was scared by it. "Seriously? What Japanese man is named Gulliver? If you're going to infiltrate security, at least know a bit about said security."

Jun didn't reply, the man was getting closer and she didn't have the energy to waste uttering snarky comments.

The man could see her clearly now. "Who could you be working for? Who could be so desperate, or lousy enough, to send an inexperienced brat like you here?" The girl's silence only amused him further. "It should be fun interrogating you."

Something about the way he said 'interrogate' made the hair at the back of Jun's neck stand. That unpleasant feeling turned to relief pretty quickly as Jun saw the door. "Yes!" The man was definitely faster than her, somehow, she was sure of that, but if it was outside she didn't need to outrun him, all she needed to do was hide and sneak to the pipeline, if she could get there she would escape.

The man frowned as Jun darted through the door. "C'mon, the fun was about to start!" He whined. He stopped running as soon as he made it out the door, as expected, the girl was nowhere to be seen. "No matter, I'll just smoke you out then, literally."

"Fu-" Jun's hands muffled her voice before it got loud.

"Hmm? Not there?" The man twirled the gun in his hand, he had taken a shot at a stack of pipes. The entire compound had been owned by a now defunct sewage treating company, the administrators probably thought the pipes and other plumbing stuff acted as a good cover for the facility, while they were wrong about that, it did have some good hiding places, for spies especially.

Jun didn't have to move too much to see the hole that the bullet had made in the plastic pipes, it was a few inches to the left of her head. 'The hell is going on! Should an ordinary guard have a gun? Yuka and Tetsuya never mentioned this!'

The man continued taking shots at random, making quip after quip. As his voice grew indistinct, Jun began her crawl to the pipeline, the route traced out on the map on her phone pictured clearly in her mind. 'This is not good.'

* * *

Giganticastle's fist came down with a thunderous boom, crushing the weaker warrior completely.

Jack: 3400 - 1800 Silver: 5800

"Incredible! Silver has turned the tables, and now he has a 4000 Life Points lead!"

The crowd's roar was deafening, Crow's voice could hardly be heard by the others. "This is serious, I haven't seen Jack losing this badly since Hibiki, and that was just 2000 points."

"This guy's deck is something, huh?" Yusei agreed. "Springing up that Trap Card: Xing Zhen Hu, and binding Jack's set cards was the key thing."

Rua added: "Yeah, that crippled Jack a lot. Now all he has is the card he'll draw next turn."

"I hate to say it, but it lools like Silver will win." Rebecca said.

"I don't think Jack's done just yet." Yusei said. "He might be topdecking now but I think he still has a chance, we've all faced greater odds before and we've been able to pull a win out of the worst situations."

"I end my turn." Silver stated.

"My turn, draw." Jack added a card to his empty hand.

"Jack Atlas is in a tight situation! Can he survive Silver's turn with only one card in his hand?!" The MC bellowed.

"I set a monster and end my turn." Jack said and the reversed Monster Card appeared.

"I draw." Silver said. "I summon Armageddon Knight."

A sword wielding warrior appeared next to the gigantic golem, his red cape billowed behind it. His armor looked battered and dented, an evidence of his experience in battle. (4/1400/1200)

"Armageddon Knight's effect activates, when he's summoned I can send a monster card from my deck to my graveyard. I'll send Schwarzschild Limit Dragon to the graveyard."

Jack frowned. 'More setting up?'

"Armageddon Knight, attack his monster!"

The knight obeyed its master, running towards the reversed card. As soon as he was within range, he struck, but surprisingly the monster withstood the attack.

"That is Dark Resonator's effect, once per turn he won't be destroyed by battle." Jack explained.

"Giganticastle, finish it off."

The small fiend was no match for the golem, and this time it was instantly destroyed.

"I set a card and end my turn." Silver stated.

"My turn." Jack said. "I set a card and end my turn."

Next to his two Spell or Trap Cards covered by the purple miasma, a new reversed card appeared.

"Topdecking can only get you so far, Jack Atlas." Silver said. "My turn." He drew a card. "I tribute Armageddon Knight to summon Vampire Dragon."

The knight vanished, and in its place a larger dragon appeared. Two deadly looking fangs could be seen coming out of its mouth which seemed to curl into a smirk as its serpentine body moved around. Its one eye darted around scarily before staring at Jack directly. (5/2400/0)

"Giganticastle at-"

"I activate my Trap Card." Jack interrupted Silver. "Red Screen!" His only good reversed card flipped up. "As long as this card is on the field, you can't attack me."

"I end my turn." Silver stated.

"My turn." Jack began. He grit his teeth in annoyance as he saw the card he drew. "I pass this turn."

A bolt of red energy emanating from the Red Screen Trap Card struck Jack.

Jack: 1800 - 800 Silver: 5800

"At the end of my turn I have to pay 1000 Life Points or Red Screen will be destroyed."

"Better hope your next draw's a wonderful one Mr. Atlas." Silver said. "My turn." He drew. "I pass this turn too." He stated nonchalantly. "Let's see if you can actually pull a bunny out of that hat of yours, Jack Atlas."

* * *

Her boots gave a loud clank each time they struck the metal pipes repeatedly. She looked over her shoulders, checking to see if her pursuer was still there. She couldn't see anything, the pipes were still dark and she was too scared to use her flashlight, thinking it would give her away. She finally stopped running, hiding behind a portion of the wall.

"Shit!" She cursed.

Getting into the reactor hadn't been too much of a challenge, she had placed the device rather easily, the problem had been in placing the one in the control room. It had taken a bit of waiting and cunniness to get in and place the device but she had managed it, she had not been so lucky in her attempt to get out, evident by her present situation.

She reached into her pocket for her phone, hissing in annoyance as she scrolled through the maps, they were hardly useful now that she had no idea where she was. She had no choice but to wander around and hope she stumbles across an exit.

Jun's face scrunched up in disgust, the smell that had managed to escape her during the burst of adrenaline she now percieved. Things weren't looking up for her, her chances of escaping were really slim, and now that they knew someone had been here they would most certainly conduct a search and when they did they would most probably discover the devices. Yuka would not like this development, she could only wonder what on earth the woman was doing, both she and Tetsuya.

* * *

Currently, as the duel continued, Tetsuya sat in a eatery inside the Kaiba Dome, focusing on the duel shown on the T.V.

He had a headset on and he seemed to be talking to someone through it. Despite his constant focus on the duel, his expression seemed to be one of disinterest. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes … what?" The person at the other end replied.

"It's up, we have a tether, you can go for overload. I repeat, we are a go for overload."

"… I hear you, keep your fingers crossed. I'm out."

"I'm out." Tetsuya said. A small smile crept up to his face, so far the plan was going smoothly, now that it was just the overload left, it was almost a guaranteed success, if this went through Yulian would be proud, everyone will.

* * *

Jack Atlas wiped some sweat off his brow, he had to admit, Silver was tough, he had too get something good in this draw, he just had to.

"I draw!" He dramatically ripped the top card off his deck. Jack let out a laugh as he saw the card he drew.

"Something good?"

"Oh, I think you'll like it." Jack said, placing the card in his Monster Card zone.

"What the hell?" Silver uncharacteristically blurted as Xing Zhen Hu disappeared along with the purple miasma over Jack's two reversed cards.

A weird looking fiend appeared before Jack. It's head seemed to make up most of its body and two white horns protruded from the top of its head. It possessed purple skin and its white teeth shone brightly as its face contorted into an expression that implied a rabies infection.(4/1900/1600)

"This is Trap Eater, by sending a face-up Trap Card you control to the graveyard, I can special summon him from my hand." Jack smirked. "Now that Xing Zhen Hu is gone, I can activate my face-down cards. I activate Powerful Rebirth!" One of the formerly crippled reversed cards flipped up. "This card lets me special summon a level 4 or lower monster from my graveyard, and the resurected monster's level is increased by one and it's Attack and defense points by 100. I choose Phantom King Hydride."

The warrior riding the black horse reappered, its rusting Silver armor clanging as the horse galloped. (3 - 4/1500 - 1600/300 - 400)

'Two tuners?' Silver thought.

"Phantom King Hydride's effect allows it to be treated as a non-tuner monster during Synchro summons." Jack said. "Now I tune Trap Eater to Phantom King Hydride!"

Trap Eater transformed into four green rings which Phantom King Hydride flew into. The warrior and his steed were reduced to four shining orbs and a beam of light shot through the rings.

"Synchro summon! My very soul, Red Daemon's Dragon!"

Red wings flapped as the demon horned dragon with scaly red skin took flight. Red Daemon's Dragon let out a loud roar as it landed before Jack Atlas, baring its teeth menacingly. (8/3000/2000)

The crowd cheering increased in intensity once again as Jack Atlas' ace monster took to the field.

"Next, I activate Red Dragon's Vase." Jack said as a Spell Card materialized on his field. "This card can only be activated when I control Red Daemon's Dragon, and it allows me to draw two cards."

As Jack added those two cards to his hand, Silver looked on in silence.

"I set these two cards face-down." Next to Jack's newly freed reversed card, two new reversed cards appeared. "Now, Red Daemon's Dragon, attack Vampire Dragon!"

The king's avatar flew towards the one eyed dragon, its flaming fist struck the golem, destroying it instantly.

Jack: 800 Silver: 5800 - 5200

"Vampire Dragon's effect activates." Silver announced. "If it was tribute summoned, when it is destroyed I can add a monster from my deck to my hand. I add Dark Tinker."

"I end my turn." Jack said. "And since I don't pay the 1000 points for Red Screen's effect, it is destroyed."

"Amazing! Jack Atlas has brought out his ace monster Red Daemon's Dragon, is this where we see Star Eater now?!"

"My turn." Silver drew."You seem to have forgotten that Giganticastle is still stronger than that dragon of yours, maybe I'll remind you, Giganticastle, attack Red Daemon's Dragon!"

As the golem's fist drew closer to Red Daemon's Dragon, one of Jack's new reversed cards flipped up. "I activate Prideful Roar. When a monster I control battles a stronger monster, by paying Life Points equal to the difference in their power, my monster gains that much Attack Points, plus 300."

Jack: 800 - 700 Silver: 5200

Red Daemon's Dragon increased in power as the Trap Card took effect. (8/3000 - 3400/2000)

The dragon's fist burst through the golem's body, reducing it into a pile of rubble.

Jack: 700 Silver: 5200 - 4900

"Woah! Jack Atlas has turned the tables, now Silver has lost his advantage!"

"I activate Pot of Avarice." Silver stated cooly, oddly unperturbed by the loss of his monster. "This shuffles five monsters from my graveyard to my deck, then allows me to draw two cards. I'll shuffle CheepCheepCheep, Armageddon Knight, Great Maju Garzett, Vampire Dragon and Mist Archfiend." Silver shuffled the aforementioned cards into his deck, then proceeded to draw two cards. "I set a monster, and another card face-down."

A set monster appeared, and a second reversed card appeared in his Spell/Trap Zone.

"Turn end."

"My turn, draw!" Jack said. "Well, Silver, its been a good duel, but this is when I draw the curtains, for the record, no one has come as close as you have to defeating me in a while, I'll certainly remember this duel. I activate Red Carpet!" The other reversed card crippled by Xing Zhen Hu flipped up. "I can activate this card when I control a Dragon-Type synchro monster, it allows me to special summon two Resonators from my graveyard. I'll summon level 3 Dark Resonator and level 1 Barrier Resonator."

Two of Jack famous Resonator tuner monsters appeared, each holding their tuning forks and rods. A purple sphere at the end of Dark Resonator's rod. (3/1300/200) And an orange sphere in the case of Barrier Resonator. (1/300/800)

"Now, I tune Dark Resonator and Barrier Resonator to Red Daemon's Dragon!"

The crowd roared in anticipation as the synchro summoning sequence began. A wave of nostalgia washed over Yusei and he found himself missing the old days when they were off saving the world, he really missed all that.

Ever the majestic sight, Red Nova Dragon let out a large roar as if announcing its presence. Its body pulsed dangerously as though magma flowed through its veins. (12/3500/3000)

"Barrier Resonator, Dark Resonator, Force Resonator, Phantom King Hydride and Trap Eater. That's five tuners, meaning a 2500 Attack Points boost." Jack said.

Red Nova Dragon roared again as its power increased. (12/3500 - 6000/3000)

"Now I activate Call of the Haunted!" Jack's last reversed card flipped up. "Come back to me, Red Daemon's Dragon!"

The unevolved form of Red Nova Dragon, the king's avatar, reappeared. (8/3000/2000)

"Jack has brought out two of his most powerful monsters, clearly intending to finish Silver now! Will he be successful?!" The MC yelled.

"Red Daemon's Dragon, attack his monster. Absolute Powerforce!"

The red dragon's flaming fist struck the set monster which was revealed to be the much weaker Dark Tinker.

"Red Nova Dragon, attack!"

With the power of 6000 Attack Points, Red Nova Dragon began a dive bomb towards Silver, who only stared in defiance. The dragon came down in a very realistic looking explosion, and the crowd roared.

* * *

"Stop right there! Hands where I can see them!"

"Shit!" Abandoning rationality, Jun broke into a run and the men behind her followed.

She had continued to wander aimlessly in the pipeline and after a while she was convinced that her pursuer had forgotten about her. This proved to be a mistake, however, as the consequent carelessness led to her being found.

Footsteps echoed eerily within the pipeline as the chase continued. It made no sense to Jun, she didn't expect them to look this far, the pipeline was abandoned as far as she knew, how they even concieved the idea of checking it was beyond her.

Suddenly something struck her, she couldn't fathom why they hadn't shot her despite their close proximity, the other guard didn't have any qualms about shooting her.

A light at the end of the tunnel feeling washed over her as she saw the end of the pipeline, Tetsuya had hidden a bike a few feet away that she could use to escape. Below the pipeline was a large, deep canal, so jumping out the pipeline at her current speed was suicide, even in the best case scenerio she would get away with a few broken bones. She could climb down safely, and while that was rather impossible while she was being chased, she had no choice, she would have to go for it.

A sudden switching on of a light bulb in a dark room was rather irritating to the eyes and it took quite sometime for the person to get used to it, and that was just a light bulb. The intensity of the light that was directed into the pipeline was so great Jun was sure she had gotten blind, her scream did well to convey that fear.

Jun couldn't see anything, but she did feel. She felt someone tackle her from behind, she felt herself fall onto the wet, repulsive floor and she felt the cold metal cuffs strapped around her hand. She trashed about endlessly and she felt something strike her somewhere on her head, that was the last thing she felt for quite a while.

* * *

Jack: 700 Silver: 4900 - 8900 - 2900

"What the hell?!" Jack Atlas yelled, he couldn't believe his eyes, and neither could the crowd judging by the noises that erupted from the stands.

"Great card, isn't it? Nutrient Z." Silver coughed. One of his two reversed was now face-up. "If I'm about to take damage of more than 2000 points it gives me 4000 Life Points before it's subtracted."

Jack laughed. "You're impressive, I'll give you that, surviving a direct attack from Red Nova Dragon is an incredible feat, but you're finished."

"Am I?"

"Of course!"

"We shall see." Silver cooly stated.

"I end my turn." Jack said, confident in himself.

"Against the might of both Red Daemon's Dragon and Red Nova Dragon will Silver have a chance."

"My turn, draw." Silver said. "I activate Soul Charge." Silver's last reversed card flipped up.

Jack: 700 Silver: 2900 - 900

"For every 1000 points I sacrifice, I can special summon a monster from my graveyard. So say hello to the Schwarzchild Limit Dragon I milled with Armageddon Knight's effect and the Dark Tinker your dragon destroyed last turn."

Both monsters appeared in a flash of light. The first was a serpentine dragon with browm skin and a beige underbelly. (8/2000/0) The latter was a new fiend, out of its body protruded multiple arms each wielding a different weapon that made it look like some sort of torture machine. (2/1000/1300)

'A tuner…' Jack thought.

"Take a good look, Jack Atlas, at the instrument of your defeat." Silver said. "I tune Dark Tinker to Schwarzschild Limit Dragon!"

* * *

Ruka woke up to a start. She heard a loud 'pop' sound. She rubbed her eyes, she couldn't remember when she had dozed off.

She jumped from the sofa as she heard the sound again. She looked around the room in alarm, it didn't take too long for her to realize it was the light bulbs, they were blowing up. The pop sounds increased in frequency and Ruka ran to the balcony, there weren't any bulbs there.

One of the numerous perks of their house in Tops was the view of Neo Domino one could see from the balcony, any other time it would be nothing short of breathtakingly beautiful, but as Ruka looked over the city what she saw gave her a sense of foreboding.

Lights flickered uncontrollably, reaching peak intensity and dwindling just as soon, being able to see this hours before noon made it feel even worse, then an odd hum echoed through the city, sounding like a disturbing guttural groan … then everything went dark.

* * *

Even as the ear-piercing sound of the microphone feedback rang through Kaiba Dome, and the shouts of the crowd tore through the stadium, Yusei didn't take his eyes off the monster before him.

It was the embodiment of everything cursed and evil, its golden eyes radiated pure malice, and it bared the white teeth within the mouth which made up part of the face present in its torso. Out of its shoulders protruted bones which seemed to formed some kind of armor, its flexed the claws on its hands menacingly. From the side of his head emanated two purple horns which curved downwards, going down from its torso its body seemed quite similar to that of a serpent and its slithered around as the toothless mouth on its head contorted into a strange attempt at a grin. (10/4000/2000)

"… the hell?" Jack muttered as the dragon of darkness stared at him.

"Due to Soul Charge's effect I can't battle this turn." Silver said. So I end my turn with a face-down card."

A single reversed card appeared behind Dragocytos.

"My … turn." Jack said, unnerved by the appearance of the new dragon, the aura it gave off was unmistakingly dark, he wondered how exactly did Silver get his hand on a card like it. Pushing all his doubts aside, Jack knew what he had to do, it didn't matter what his face-down card was, Red Nova Dragon's effect prevented it from being destroyed by card effects. "Red Nova Dragon! Attack his monster!"

The king's powerhouse prepared to unleash a blast of fire from its mouth.

"I activate Forbidden Chalice." Silver said, his reversed card flipped up, and as the Spell Card materialized all the color drained from Jack's face. "In exchange of 400 Attack Points it negates your Red Nova Dragon's effect."

Red Nova Dragon let out a low growl, its skin adopting a sickly brown hue as the Spell Card did its work. (12/6000 - 3500 - 3900/3000)

"Now, Dragocytos, Corrupted Nethersoul Dragon, destroy Red Nova Dragon!"

It was like the proverbial calm before the storm, except this lasted for only one infinitesimal moment, after that the gates crashed open and a torrent of purple flames incinerated the once majestic Red Nova Dragon.

Jack: 700 - 600 Silver: 900

The lights began to flicker uncontrollably, and a low grotesque groan-like sound resonated through the dome, sounding like how one would imagine the growl of a long forgotten primordial beast.

"Now, Jack Atlas, do you care to do anything else with the rest of your turn.

'It's all over.' Jack fell to his knees. "… no."

"Well, then this duel is over." Silver drew the final card of the duel. "Dragocytos, Corrupted Nethersoul Dragon, destroy Red Daemon's Dragon!"

The mouth on the dragon's torso opened wide and another torrent of flames was released from its maw. Red Daemon's Dragon attempted to fight back, but ultimately its efforts were futile as the purple flames from the corrupted dragon washed over it and consumed it, completely, at that instance everything went dark.

* * *

It was about two hours before noon, so it was hardly noticeable to the average onlooker, but within the one minute or so that the power was suspended a lot of damage was done at some places, whereas at other places no one even took notice of this fact.

As soon as the power returned the Life Points counter shone brightly, and Jack Atlas couldn't believe his eyes.

Jack: 600 Silver: 0

"What the hell?"

As the incredibly vivid hologram of Dragocytos faded, Jack looked around the dueling field in desperation. Silver was no where to be found.

The MC bellowed something after a few seconds of sputtering, and the consequent events felt so surreal Jack wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't. Did the crowd cheer? Did they boo? Did Silver vanish into thin air? Did he run? Or was his mind just playing tricks on him?

But Jack knew one thing, he knew how he felt, and he was pissed, at who, or what, he didn't know, but he definitely knew why …

He didn't win.


End file.
